tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64932602974946899552024-03-13T02:40:03.717-04:00Urban LandscapedAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14940551631529548324noreply@blogger.comBlogger71125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-977288708623973802011-02-02T13:10:00.006-05:002011-02-02T14:17:21.628-05:00Baby, it's icy outside!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnq19LA9UuIa0xr2TvN1Ic7sLI2q_EQ9sBllNrK8coxBWo9TiItO-GshimGT-QRZbw56eqfXkZ7KnsMnfJhN1Zb3WjUs4KaE64HKJKzw3ypJ7QcM0V520TQBmg8nl3hVy-lTyPCrYgBPc/s1600/Vergara_Henry_Horner_Homes_Chicago_1995.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifnq19LA9UuIa0xr2TvN1Ic7sLI2q_EQ9sBllNrK8coxBWo9TiItO-GshimGT-QRZbw56eqfXkZ7KnsMnfJhN1Zb3WjUs4KaE64HKJKzw3ypJ7QcM0V520TQBmg8nl3hVy-lTyPCrYgBPc/s400/Vergara_Henry_Horner_Homes_Chicago_1995.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5569156355853339042" /></a><br />This winter morning, my neighborhood looked like an outdoor skating rink. I slid with every step even though I was wearing my Sorels. It was miserable. Likewise, I look at the ice cascading out of the windows in this Vergara photo, and I feel the cold. Taken in the Henry Horner Homes in Chicago in 1995, this photo speaks to the dead cold of winter as it turns to spring. The ground around the building is mostly ice-free. The ice coming out of this abandoned building's windows is the coldest of the cold. There's movement, but not the kind you can see, at least not before the ice crashes to the ground in its final resignation. I hope my Bronx neighborhood sees this moment soon. <br /><br />It's been a couple of posts since I've mentioned Vergara, but whenever I research urban exploration photography that I admire, it often begins with me Googling his name. This is how I found the above photograph, from <a href="http://www.slate.com/id/2241211/">a short Slate blog post from January 15, 2010</a>: "American Ruins: Nature is taking back these buildings." Truth is that a small Vergara slideshow of this sort is nice - in spite of the now often-seen images of the Packard Plant and former Michigan Central Railroad Station -- but I really hope that somebody is shooting for an extensive book of nature taking back buildings. I could look at those photos all day. Would that still be <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ian-ference/on-ruin-porn_b_816593.html">ruin porn</a> or would it be something else? Hmmm...<br /><br />My Google search also turned up another 2010 Vergara media reference, this one from <a href="http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/29/whats-your-worst-travel-experience-of-the-year/">December 27th in a Times blog post titled "What was your worst travel experience of the year?"</a> Urban explorers often have fantastic stories about unexpected things that happen while they're out in the field, so to speak. But the ruins are an urban explorer's destination. Vergara's awful travel experience is quite pedestrian. Here's an excerpt:<br /><br /><blockquote>Realizing we were really stuck the driver let us off in a place I could not identify because of the snow, the wind and the cold.<br />As I got off my feet sank almost up to my knees and the wind blew snow on my face. I could not read the street signs.<br />I learnt how difficult it is to carry a suitcase and a heavy bag full of Christmas presents when there is a foot of fresh snow on the ground.<br />Suitcases don't roll on snow.<br />Hands freeze when uncovered.<br />On my hair snow turned to ice.<br />And I didn't know where I was going. </blockquote><br /><br />Stay warm, everybody, unless you want to be cold!<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Photo caption: Henry Horner Homes, 2051 W. Lake St., Chicago, 1995. Photo by Camilo Jose Vergara. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-66140722467730067192011-02-01T23:42:00.005-05:002011-02-02T14:16:35.986-05:00word seeks, yes, word seeks<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFp3U051eygU4a-DveTBw2Le5uO9C_uZZ3BZx4KyUa_cTcg1OWfJ46QOqtJSMlBnU7dORm6XMF8v87nYDH6FjHV7qLmVi5nLTIhZlqHZqtfvsb3Cwo0OQgtXGkir8fZuW7pGblKd_OsT_/s1600/111.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 213px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcFp3U051eygU4a-DveTBw2Le5uO9C_uZZ3BZx4KyUa_cTcg1OWfJ46QOqtJSMlBnU7dORm6XMF8v87nYDH6FjHV7qLmVi5nLTIhZlqHZqtfvsb3Cwo0OQgtXGkir8fZuW7pGblKd_OsT_/s320/111.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5568949032199403618" /></a><br />I can't help it; I love the <span style="font-style:italic;">Word Seeks</span> puzzles. Yeah, it's kind of mindless; yes, I should be writing. But during my 25-minute train ride to work, I'm lucky if I'm not sleeping.<br /><br />So, imagine my surprise when I came across Puzzle #69 in the <span style="font-style:italic;">Super Word Seeks</span> issue dated October 15, 2010. The name of the puzzle is "...Towns". "Abandoned U.S. boom towns are monuments to the rough-and-tumble days of the Old West. Among the most famous of these ghost towns is Virginia City, Nevada, which had been a mining metropolis in the late 1800s." Funny, I hadn't thought of Virginia City and Jerome, AZ as the precursor to Detroit and Gary, Indiana. OK, well maybe I had, just a little bit. Print out the photo from above and search for the words "deserted", "ruins", "explore", and "tumbleweeds"! <br /><br />For a listing of ghost towns around the country, visit the fine website <a href="http://www.ghosttowns.com">www.ghosttowns.com</a>. Did you know that ghost towns were this common?!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-17720680968400564652010-12-05T21:02:00.011-05:002010-12-05T21:30:48.928-05:00European Health Spa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOac5RSgEY4M3MXrHyknFwWPXjNlVJLvuopy23fRr1I0SqeIyARNqb5aSi_gd0ZFGV5nai237xU9493Q5D8Pt35c9-4fTPYgwINLkpOG8KRcp32rkJB8SsNvzWhXxDUxJZfYy87n9Wxoet/s1600/202.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOac5RSgEY4M3MXrHyknFwWPXjNlVJLvuopy23fRr1I0SqeIyARNqb5aSi_gd0ZFGV5nai237xU9493Q5D8Pt35c9-4fTPYgwINLkpOG8KRcp32rkJB8SsNvzWhXxDUxJZfYy87n9Wxoet/s320/202.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547389206114176594" /></a><br />For years, we've been driving down Westchester County's Central Park Avenue, and I've told myself that one day, I'd stop and take photos of the European Health Spa in Scarsdale. Last month, that day finally came. Husband, daughter, and I had a surprisingly good time for an exploration that wasn't natural in its nature and one that we explored in a surface way. As you can see below, daughter now likes to imitate the gestures of statues, which is what really made this pit stop interesting. And, of course, getting her in a "No Trespassing" photo. It's obvious that at one point, the European Health Spa was "visionary" for its creative use of architecture on a strip mall street. But now plants have taken over in much of the inside, and upon a closer look, that fantastic statue is plastic. No wonder it hasn't been taken by vandals. I found a post about this abandoned site <a href="http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/ehs/ehs.html">dated 2004</a>. I'm curious to see how long it will be before this buiding actually gets demo'd. <br /><p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X-C9ECoLbl7bl08BKaUgEY-43tJZjmHmPuB753Hrw_8es-GVjgmLmhjoVR-lBZvKfvDejSEP08Tf1cDwZSJ0Z1Bw5P2j-GanzxIxDfBTYlP0fZrTL_B8Ce9yTDVl1fV0MUjhgFFi788a/s1600/205.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9X-C9ECoLbl7bl08BKaUgEY-43tJZjmHmPuB753Hrw_8es-GVjgmLmhjoVR-lBZvKfvDejSEP08Tf1cDwZSJ0Z1Bw5P2j-GanzxIxDfBTYlP0fZrTL_B8Ce9yTDVl1fV0MUjhgFFi788a/s320/205.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547389694805068610" /></a><br /><p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniSy_fYlnXbuldrTBHM_8QuYotYNY7iui_E82emNMHcZCsorJgIgpye5mtsEbLd9p2mZy41oDuOzsRJ_k3G9lOaRrLZlJphg5VzqVDxVCbZ4aYRx-XXk1FuO0lqrxAVwxDXvGebdU3C9E/s1600/215.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniSy_fYlnXbuldrTBHM_8QuYotYNY7iui_E82emNMHcZCsorJgIgpye5mtsEbLd9p2mZy41oDuOzsRJ_k3G9lOaRrLZlJphg5VzqVDxVCbZ4aYRx-XXk1FuO0lqrxAVwxDXvGebdU3C9E/s320/215.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547389999754826930" /></a><br /><p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUH0mRLaNkYqfTjlJxYPO-XqBny0HSuKSZEHu3B4EhRqfS2UgdUZY0kFX3bV96l_5k1JM3zXXFA0MbNCdnPgDnAiYD6JPVQiAMVSmlpCrwZ3QuREo3qHyMrmxZlAcO7vyw-RUwrd9zuMfL/s1600/236.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUH0mRLaNkYqfTjlJxYPO-XqBny0HSuKSZEHu3B4EhRqfS2UgdUZY0kFX3bV96l_5k1JM3zXXFA0MbNCdnPgDnAiYD6JPVQiAMVSmlpCrwZ3QuREo3qHyMrmxZlAcO7vyw-RUwrd9zuMfL/s320/236.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547390246785060642" /></a><br /><p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTfSDcuIJqpguCPigoZZ4FIj5kH0yUA6epnbh7HvHm6SmLZtOP9V_fIzWcwaPTdiLie1Rr6lGsmo6bCVh7FZ33rzp1pLKpZME5-VlxkhpD9FPq7A08MxPYLZYT7PwJCoLNAVuFDhETMOA/s1600/245.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTfSDcuIJqpguCPigoZZ4FIj5kH0yUA6epnbh7HvHm6SmLZtOP9V_fIzWcwaPTdiLie1Rr6lGsmo6bCVh7FZ33rzp1pLKpZME5-VlxkhpD9FPq7A08MxPYLZYT7PwJCoLNAVuFDhETMOA/s320/245.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547390485588553058" /></a><br /><p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj346KcPYK4l63lv97ORDRHeucbENUg8UGps3DXbHR25rXRyjT9Sx6sWgvsh4p9SRIIuot44qLvOfiYoRJ6pEwZNA9zFg76iH2c48mrU-yFHxZckvsZD4GLfe-snGENOsXgYl3ORj_sWbqy/s1600/258.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj346KcPYK4l63lv97ORDRHeucbENUg8UGps3DXbHR25rXRyjT9Sx6sWgvsh4p9SRIIuot44qLvOfiYoRJ6pEwZNA9zFg76iH2c48mrU-yFHxZckvsZD4GLfe-snGENOsXgYl3ORj_sWbqy/s320/258.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547390709595628098" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-39751040533656346872010-02-10T13:04:00.017-05:002010-02-24T13:33:46.924-05:002009's UE book of the year<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9MffzJPv6WL5qr8VdDHy153jbd3_0RhTe4VEdU7IDDUAF7o6upuLbsCNBHsIeB6Xmk4Psx9WU_K91AEE9opxCNUWNxDguyBXIS_AiJWzcZif_lR3XslDvfOru3D4631p1ml5MJTr0x5J/s1600-h/asylum01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9MffzJPv6WL5qr8VdDHy153jbd3_0RhTe4VEdU7IDDUAF7o6upuLbsCNBHsIeB6Xmk4Psx9WU_K91AEE9opxCNUWNxDguyBXIS_AiJWzcZif_lR3XslDvfOru3D4631p1ml5MJTr0x5J/s320/asylum01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5441638510691449010" /></a>If you're interested in urban exploration literature, you're already aware of Christopher Payne's photography book <span style="font-style:italic;">Asylum: Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals</span>. Released in late September (2009) by The MIT Press, <a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=11843">Asylum </a>seemed to attract more publicity due to its inclusion of an Oliver Sacks essay, but Amazon states that it also won the <span style="font-style:italic;">2010 Ken Book Award </span>presented by the National Alliance on Mental Illness of New York City Metro (NAMI-NYC Metro). For UE literature followers, it seems to be furthering the trend of UE subject-themed works, ie: photos featuring cans containing <a href="http://www.davidmaisel.com/works/lod.asp">cremated human remains</a>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/12/opinion/0613-GASPUMPS_index.html">gas station photo essays</a>, and <a href="http://www.abandonedtheaters.com">online visual encyclopedias of abandoned theaters</a>. <br /><br />Although part of UE photography is undeniably the beauty of ruins, there is a significant benefit derived from these subject-themed works. UE photography is shifting from being viewed as an artistic aesthetic and being used as a historical resource. <br /><br />These UE subject-themed works are serving as journalism, but one that's aesthetically pleasing. Documenting ruins is now valued on a more mainstream level. Like any other genre of photography, the photographer engages in the activity for a variety of reasons; it might be about the modernist aesthetics to one; the photographic act for another. But documentation of what once was is arguably the most important aspect. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.oliversacks.com/">Oliver Sacks</a> addresses this topic in the last, lengthy paragraph of his essay. Most of the essay provides a context only possible with works: the history of lunatic asylums, institutionalization, deinstitutionalization. But in his last paragraph, he states "One must not be too romantic about madness, or the madhouses in which the insane were confined...Payne is a visual poet as as well as an architect in training...His photographs are beautiful images in their own right, and they also pay tribute to a sort of public architecture that no longer exists. They focus both on the monumental and the mundane, the grand facades and the peeling paint."<br /><br />Payne's essay provides a more specific context for the reader. He spends quite a bit of time explaining "the Kirkbride Plan", illustrating it with a four-part photograph and the floorplan of Massachusetts' Danvers Hospital. (The Kirkbride Plan is a design that was used by many mental hospitals and consists of a central administration building with numerous attached pavilions, built in a V formation.) Paynes' "Afterword" is a more personal recount of his experiences and includes beautiful photos of Danvers' demolition. Within the photos, Payne adds a few words as well; his paragraph about "The Quintessential View" is wonderful. <br /><br />But what of the photos? As expected, they're provoking, thoughtful, and pleasing. A combination of exterior and interior shots, black & white and color photography, they show both the absence and presence of the patients. The buildings have a physical grandeur and importance that conflicts with their abandonment.<br /><br />So, <span style="font-style:italic;">Asylum</span> is 2009's UE book of the year, mostly because it is one of the few UE books to get mainstream recognition but also because it sheds light on what UE photography often means to the reader and viewer: an edgy, catchy, easy way to learn our history. <br /><br />A couple of related links: <br /><br />The New York Times' David W. Dunlap has <a href="http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/23/asylum/?scp=1&sq=asylum%20christopher%20payne&st=cse">a nice summary of the book, along with a slide show</a>. <br /><br />Amazon is so huge now that it's often accurate in regards to rare, out-of-print books. And the customer reviews are pretty great. This details Payne's previous <a href="http://www.amazon.com/New-Yorks-Forgotten-Substations-Behind/dp/1568983557">book</a>. <br /><br /><a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/the-lost-world-of-creedmoor-hospital/?scp=2&sq=asylum%20christopher%20payne&st=cse ">Sewell Chan's article </a>focuses on Queens' Creedmoor Psychiatric Center. <br /><br />Payne's photographic series on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Brother_Island">North Brother Island</a> can be accessed <a href="http://www.chrispaynephoto.com/nbi.html">here</a> on his official website.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-13392462064195027962010-01-30T20:00:00.012-05:002010-01-30T21:08:51.163-05:00my 2010 calendar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVooS1z0YzgIKhW_WwcPyN1o6cv5QdzWHYttQLY5BlcOt_TupSgwq0NTcBsDJugW6H7g5WEi3kg0EUxIzSQ4nkelMirNgChPUcyJJwxTGqQGPN2hCuqQL2zyw6Wqc55Hp02dBe62EuH8L/s1600-h/calendar2010.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDVooS1z0YzgIKhW_WwcPyN1o6cv5QdzWHYttQLY5BlcOt_TupSgwq0NTcBsDJugW6H7g5WEi3kg0EUxIzSQ4nkelMirNgChPUcyJJwxTGqQGPN2hCuqQL2zyw6Wqc55Hp02dBe62EuH8L/s200/calendar2010.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432719214492061394" /></a><br />For the last couple of years, my wall calendar of choice has been the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Environmental-Art-2010-Wall-Calendar/dp/160237256X/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t">Environmental Art calendars </a>from <a href="http://www.greenmuseum.org">greenmuseum.org</a> . Unless environmental art is your expertise, there are many relatively unknown artworks highlighted (one per month). Greenmuseum.org is also a wonderful museum site featuring the work of many. (Of note, Greenmuseum.org does indeed exist only online.)<br /><br />Environmental art is more than <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy">Andy Goldsworthy</a>, <a href="http://www.robertsmithson.com">Robert Smithson</a>, and <a href="http://www.christojeanneclaude.net">Christo</a>, and a lot of the work is much more complex. Some of the pieces featured in the 2010 calendar hit on an immediate and seemingly uncomplicated level: for example, <a href="http://www.nicoledextras.com">Nicole Dextras</a>' <span style="font-style:italic;">Yucca Prom Dress</span> (2005) and <a href="http://koti.phnet.fi/halsilk/pagenglish/museumofn.html">Ilkka Halso</a>'s <span style="font-style:italic;">Rollercoaster </span>(2004) (which, for the record, I find fascinating). <br /><br />My favorite work in the 2010 calendar is multi-layered, ie: hits on the "immediate" level but also has numerous other concepts, statements, and implications within the work. <a href="http://pagesperso-orange.fr/bruni.babarit/indexgb.htm">Gilles Bruni and Marc Babarit</a>'s <span style="font-style:italic;">The Greenhouse and the Shed</span> (2002) is March's art of choice, but I couldn't wait until March to post about it, as I sit here in January in New York and dream about springtime and walking in a green great outdoors. <br /><br />I'm including the text included in the calendar; as you'll see, there's a lot of information about the art in the calendar in addition to the provocative artworks and photography. If you like to intepret art without any commentary whatsoever, stop reading now and avoid the spoilers....<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftd-ZQy6mJY2ivFVV3-nXY-HYvIM3gyzl9-w5HHuaMPoeY7IOUBzJ2c5_pxk5XowZQD5FY-1KWNP_hXSb3cKjtaWIdp-3Xg5_L2IJpXLOx24Qijwe2lKgDpsZCJnPUB9SBdoEf0DqHfZQ/s1600-h/babarit.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 254px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftd-ZQy6mJY2ivFVV3-nXY-HYvIM3gyzl9-w5HHuaMPoeY7IOUBzJ2c5_pxk5XowZQD5FY-1KWNP_hXSb3cKjtaWIdp-3Xg5_L2IJpXLOx24Qijwe2lKgDpsZCJnPUB9SBdoEf0DqHfZQ/s320/babarit.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432718884289883778" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Greenhouse and the Shed<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Gilles Bruni and Marc Babarit, dead Picea abies cones, boughts and branches, Corylus avellana branches, wire, stones, horticultural protective netting, Val di Sella forest, Italy, 2002.</span></span><br /><br />For nearly twenty years, French artists Gilles Bruni and Marc Babarit have collaborated on experimental outdoor installations, combining agriculture, ecology, architecture and photography. A fallen Norway spruce tree on a slop of the Val di Sella forest in Italy provided them with an unexpected temporary world to explore and transform.<br /><br />"We are 'sentenced' to share with the plants, the ladybug, the rat, the cloud that passes by, the night that falls, the cold, the rain," the artists say. "Thus we think that we have to find the ways toward a renegotiation of our relationships to the world, and that this renegotiation can, in particular, be done through art: we never actually work in neutral places, we have to take into account a third party with whom we must compromise."<br /><br />On this Italian forest hillside, death created a space for rebirth, allowing the artists to propose a new order: "casting a net over the summit to protect the planting, protecting the cones to fertilize the compost."<br /><br />Once the planting and protective structures were almost complete, "after waiting for clouds to appear, on a heavy but clear day in the valley," they took this final photograph, giving the tree another way to live on beyond the forest. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-85626670725906054692010-01-14T21:14:00.022-05:002010-01-27T07:14:58.193-05:00children's book recommendationsChildren are curious, inquisitive, and constantly on the lookout for new people, places, things, and ideas. Most parents love this aspect of raising children, as do I. This exploration encompasses everything in our seen and unseen world, so it makes sense that there would be a few children's books that touch upon urban exploration, even in tangential ways. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1Sr3H2KRWcOf4HI8IWgVKfyR5aLjx5k5-VOnnEZhOENPBDlHGewaugqUu6cE_Omtt-mMRT56jTe7MbU6M3QKwV6fXjFQ5B-NUYuHzxE1HEy-Us_vlaaIjRMTragtepgfkD0VKZJ5eh06/s1600-h/Curious_Garden.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 249px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ1Sr3H2KRWcOf4HI8IWgVKfyR5aLjx5k5-VOnnEZhOENPBDlHGewaugqUu6cE_Omtt-mMRT56jTe7MbU6M3QKwV6fXjFQ5B-NUYuHzxE1HEy-Us_vlaaIjRMTragtepgfkD0VKZJ5eh06/s320/Curious_Garden.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431243563214419218" /></a>In <span style="font-style:italic;">A Curious Garden,</span> (2009) by Peter Brown, a young boy named Liam unwittingly changes a "very dreary" city into a green utopia by exploring an abandoned elevated railway track and turning it into a garden. <br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">He was wandering around the old railway, as he did from time to time, when he stumbled upon a dark stairwell leading up to the tracks. The railway had stopped working ages ago. And since Liam had always wanted to explore the tracks, there was only one thing for the curious boy to do. Liam ran up the stairs, pushed open the door, and stepped out onto the railway.</span></blockquote>Inspired greatly by NYC's <a href="http://www.thehighline.org">High Line</a>, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5530988.The_Curious_Garden">The Curious Garden</a></span> encourages children to explore, to do, and to enjoy the great outdoors. I plan on reading this book to Charlotte until she understands its messages. The illustrations are quite wonderful, including the old dreary "before" scenes. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Up Above & Down Below </span> (2006) by Sue Redding is a book that my nineteen month-old will have to grow into, as she doesn't yet understand that there is something "below" every visible "above" world. Many above/below scenarios are illustrated (in a fresh, modern way), in both the man-made (city streets/subway platform; theater stage/under the stage) and natural (the Arctic/water below the ice; jungle/ground) environments. I hope to see the look on Charlotte's face as she finally understands the under/above concept, and I hope that it doesn't involve monsters underneath her bed.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSowTXXo7PBu3VLR5O3WoO4m_HZqYmW1CqsHWkPc-lWEYME5ksv_15MYU6YaPpGaZsMoOiAtWjEmp2E7DtyQkTUws66y8l3Q54Niw3OfOr_EUs9vY6rK4EvnYWiW-zhRFjDc3vtXgzXY1/s1600-h/up_above.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKSowTXXo7PBu3VLR5O3WoO4m_HZqYmW1CqsHWkPc-lWEYME5ksv_15MYU6YaPpGaZsMoOiAtWjEmp2E7DtyQkTUws66y8l3Q54Niw3OfOr_EUs9vY6rK4EvnYWiW-zhRFjDc3vtXgzXY1/s320/up_above.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431248654131161938" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6UYp5pmw6lL0cV9bMUKmowPyq2UbEKzq5qI-BNO_z4gCeJiVq-7SPGkF-8dU4S3iwA8za6Gfufc9t3AfHwNRHUG901PGgI8I1kxGc_F9iLAEdoqD0Ep6hAqpTOL9q2nBCEBgFhI7HtkN/s1600-h/arch_animals.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6UYp5pmw6lL0cV9bMUKmowPyq2UbEKzq5qI-BNO_z4gCeJiVq-7SPGkF-8dU4S3iwA8za6Gfufc9t3AfHwNRHUG901PGgI8I1kxGc_F9iLAEdoqD0Ep6hAqpTOL9q2nBCEBgFhI7HtkN/s400/arch_animals.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431245234545185362" /></a><br />The most frequent type of children's urban exploration book would have to be "animals-in-architecture" genre, as I've found two of these books so far. <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Architecture-ANIMALS-Preservation-Michael-Crosbie/dp/0471143588">Architecture ANIMALS</a></span> (1995) by Michael J. Crosbie and Steve Rosenthal is a board book with photos and accompanying poems for animals depicted in architecture country-wide. For example, The Owl Cafe in Albuquerque, New Mexico is photographed, and its accompanying poem reads:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Who lives in the desert/In company most fowl/Who watches in neon/Who indeed, this horned owl. </span><br /><br />An elephant, duck, swan, stork, squirrel, and walruses are among the other found animals.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://newyorkkids.timeout.com/articles/books/79924/urban-animals-by-isabel-hill-book-review">Urban Animals</a></span> (2009) by Isabel Hill differentiates itself by featuring sites only in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Two photos for each site are included, one showing the the animal on the building's facade and then a close-up of the depicted animal. The poetic text itself also provides context:<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Over an entrance they shimmer and glow, art deco seahorses stand in a row.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjI0XUEmD2lnGef5LXpRUao9CxB0OveeNuUcr4NlGdqJDxku1SPzNK1a_V1aNc6a5j5OybsB44R_XxmjDO7m7xyKoVb8mVicPu4sKGNMXq4T1H7DRorSzM4Tt7onHdEzbSR4kYYl-RFsdB/s1600-h/UrbanAnimalsCOVER.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjI0XUEmD2lnGef5LXpRUao9CxB0OveeNuUcr4NlGdqJDxku1SPzNK1a_V1aNc6a5j5OybsB44R_XxmjDO7m7xyKoVb8mVicPu4sKGNMXq4T1H7DRorSzM4Tt7onHdEzbSR4kYYl-RFsdB/s320/UrbanAnimalsCOVER.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5431246037861415410" /></a>Even if you're "stuck" inside with your dear child, you can share a sense of exploration. Until, of course, they're old enough to go on a physical exploration with you to some of these sites or others.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-52067472830305824712009-12-16T21:01:00.016-05:002009-12-17T12:33:42.909-05:00visiting The Christmas HouseWhen I was young, one of my favorite Christmas activities was going to this Christmas building in New Jersey. Everything was Christmas, and it was about a half hour of walking through Christmas scene after Christmas scene. My grandparents took my brother and I, so it was also "dress up" day. After all, you couldn't go to the Christmas building without dressing up in your best outfit!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_I0ydWR9xCWfKTOU5XuzlzVEK8cpTL-mOdGac0NkNQpeDsznjwUiqmLWUCjkrJGhb3CMJXz4BRslTdzOOWHx9QznX0ncb1ddUds_ZyQ5L_ImHpBvStS_9uhVvVN5nFWEa2kOh2-xMsdF/s1600-h/007.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD_I0ydWR9xCWfKTOU5XuzlzVEK8cpTL-mOdGac0NkNQpeDsznjwUiqmLWUCjkrJGhb3CMJXz4BRslTdzOOWHx9QznX0ncb1ddUds_ZyQ5L_ImHpBvStS_9uhVvVN5nFWEa2kOh2-xMsdF/s320/007.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416055567157153522" /></a><br />So it made me very happy to find the Bronx version of my Christmas building, and that is <a href="http://www.newyorkchristmashouse.com">The Christmas House</a>, located in Pelham Gardens. I've been noticing The Christmas House for years now; even when it's not Christmas season, the pink paint and styling is seen, and sensed, from about a quarter of a mile away. With a toddler in tow this year, we had to visit it at night, when we could see the house in all its nighttime lighting and glamour. <br /><br />Unfortunately, not all of the glamour was visible during our visit; since it'd rained a couple of days earlier, there was still a bit of dampness, and one of the family's daughters/installation creators was outside vacuuming the side of the house's concrete pink floor when we arrived. And most of the life-sized figures were wrapped in plastic. There is such an effort made on this installation (each figure repainted every year; $1,000 weekly electricity bills during the viewing season; etc.) that it's only completely visible when there's not a chance that it's going to rain.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYvCmEdP-tFmTfKNGZMxze9thPJzCmDDTinyn5aBmoJq4lA59xFIBcJNKIfk9n-1gq1ogyg5WeXv3YtKEJfkA1Te_zMmzrnj2V01SqmlJ-zrIMMT324Y5XICNwNiLcLiLoyUJ8eyyWK9S/s1600-h/015.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXYvCmEdP-tFmTfKNGZMxze9thPJzCmDDTinyn5aBmoJq4lA59xFIBcJNKIfk9n-1gq1ogyg5WeXv3YtKEJfkA1Te_zMmzrnj2V01SqmlJ-zrIMMT324Y5XICNwNiLcLiLoyUJ8eyyWK9S/s320/015.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416056217158292402" /></a> <br />Since almost all of the mannequins/models/figures had clear plastic wrap around them, a few questions came to mind: Since this is such an over-the-top, gaudy display, does the plastic wrap actually help me enjoy the installation better? Is this outsider art? Are the people who live here insane? What percentage of people who visit this house think it's beautiful? Why?!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbpOCfg0In4CAfJNQORf25d3qwompfiTJOOj_2z9YsG9XzSJX2Q0I9zHwfeJmr9KkFsNYJgVlymxcyNWbLVFwz1vkSSKMgo9b-z9EXYCVIX3khM3FpHcsd_0JBwXfHU7anuf4Iqv9K8HG/s1600-h/005.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbpOCfg0In4CAfJNQORf25d3qwompfiTJOOj_2z9YsG9XzSJX2Q0I9zHwfeJmr9KkFsNYJgVlymxcyNWbLVFwz1vkSSKMgo9b-z9EXYCVIX3khM3FpHcsd_0JBwXfHU7anuf4Iqv9K8HG/s200/005.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416059580635529170" /></a>I have a relative who LOVES sculpture that looks like The Christmas House. The over-use of pastel shades conveys delusional optimism. My husband says that the color palette is perhaps Victorian. He also says that a theory recently emerged that Roman statues and sculptures were also brightly painted. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoR3SCEPQ-vaTe1NvzS8e-ErtL7rRVIdJbE_mRKfN3rWacoC0c6L9T3PsnjDrHLrLVwMOr0aJNMyw3EV-55Ft19hmDZcMRgt4KTrTc4kZZUarlG8DEkVc_mIMQzkoPxFGKzdjM6vMrsDDJ/s1600-h/011.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoR3SCEPQ-vaTe1NvzS8e-ErtL7rRVIdJbE_mRKfN3rWacoC0c6L9T3PsnjDrHLrLVwMOr0aJNMyw3EV-55Ft19hmDZcMRgt4KTrTc4kZZUarlG8DEkVc_mIMQzkoPxFGKzdjM6vMrsDDJ/s320/011.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416056754146167138" /></a><br />Of course, another obsession illustrated at The Christmas House is the "importance" of celebrities. While talking to the daughter, she matter-of-factly told me "who" was inside, waiting to come out: Michael, Elizabeth, Brigitte, and more. To me, the models partying behind the glass sliding door has always been the most bizarre part of this installation, having nothing to do with Christmas and everything to do with status quo. (The middle-aged daughter also expressed that it would always be "Hollywood".)<br /><br />I'll be back next year. The daughter gave us the house's phone number so that we could call ahead and find out when all of the mannequins are uncovered and outside, so as not to waste a trip. But I'm just as happy to see them wrapped in plastic, living life fully without regards to time, but physically looking "caught in the past".<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Iu9hEC4Nl-F24C6SdpliAprKOfY0R3RSkayaR5gHsBIkq7yTUE-YUlmGmgbv3ddw4FlI243ESvGtJ4RjkaakFWNdpeHOs6OsjtNXfnvdLCAH5KUoa8SILX6CUGbTSVj7PBJgWl3qwbW-/s1600-h/012.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Iu9hEC4Nl-F24C6SdpliAprKOfY0R3RSkayaR5gHsBIkq7yTUE-YUlmGmgbv3ddw4FlI243ESvGtJ4RjkaakFWNdpeHOs6OsjtNXfnvdLCAH5KUoa8SILX6CUGbTSVj7PBJgWl3qwbW-/s320/012.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416058041994563506" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-59481188494430478062009-12-11T20:33:00.007-05:002009-12-11T20:50:50.318-05:00would-be P Diddy employees go urban exploringI work PR for an organization based on urban exploration, and we've received numerous "press requests" over the years. <br /><br />One of the more non-relevant ones we've recently received was a request from a producer of <span style="font-style:italic;">I Want to Work for Diddy</span> (season 2). I'd seen a few episodes of this show when the request was made, and I had a difficult time imagining how supplying this reality show with a space would be good PR for my organization. Yes, many of our "press requests" are actually requests for our free service of "location scounting" (as if). <br /><br />So when I saw contestants running through a dark tunnel during a commercial for the show, I knew that this was the segment that we had been called about. <br /><br />The segment lasted less than five on-air minutes. Each contestant ran through dark tunnels until they found a note from Diddy. This action supposedly showed Diddy each person's commitment and ability to get through a "scary situation". <br /><br />It was pretty stupid, and I'm glad we didn't participate.<br /><br />I'm not including hyperlinks in this blog post. You'll have to Google "I Want to Work for Diddy" to find information on the show.<br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-QkaDA1VnKkvKfla4SOP0dwK2EXjCRp9t9nAOh1BFe9OlNwpc7nBPGmxmtb-OH_abmvivUMRbNhf2mG9Rgoki8GUybdr8dB8y7dXHV0TKVkRwOuMb8An-8tQkOBtwR2r5ACWWDrVdb_T/s1600-h/diddy2_6_27.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7-QkaDA1VnKkvKfla4SOP0dwK2EXjCRp9t9nAOh1BFe9OlNwpc7nBPGmxmtb-OH_abmvivUMRbNhf2mG9Rgoki8GUybdr8dB8y7dXHV0TKVkRwOuMb8An-8tQkOBtwR2r5ACWWDrVdb_T/s320/diddy2_6_27.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5414160491091905266" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-13771803660472516022009-11-30T20:27:00.018-05:002009-11-30T21:54:38.363-05:00Concrete Plant Park<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8vVFyMvADm7MeUE1kklQaQS0XkpoOdKXfyAfPSwEKNVpZcVcAA2uczdQ6A8VN8_IM1jNUC6g8R2SKpoyrBUExcdundMyxeiIOqzvySVX2-ZkJ7_Ccc-ZoZVa9A1aAER2SYw61TUCSyv_/s1600/350.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU8vVFyMvADm7MeUE1kklQaQS0XkpoOdKXfyAfPSwEKNVpZcVcAA2uczdQ6A8VN8_IM1jNUC6g8R2SKpoyrBUExcdundMyxeiIOqzvySVX2-ZkJ7_Ccc-ZoZVa9A1aAER2SYw61TUCSyv_/s320/350.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410095705557211634" /></a><br />A great article about decommissioned train stations in the Bronx ran in yesterday's <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/29/realestate/29scapes.html?scp=1&sq=where%20ghost%20passengers&st=cse">Times</a></span>. Three stations were featured: the Westchester Avenue station, the Morris Park station, and the Hunts Point Avenue station. I had already seen the Morris Park and Hunts Point stations in person, so of particular interest was the Westchester Avenue station, which is also the only one that hasn't been functionally recycled in some fashion. (Morris Park is now a gun club, and Hunts Point contains neighborhood retail outlets.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppvZWwW0tjduXTg83Vrf8lovHRWutEKbFxYU04n8IGcupLSbwGjUTcBvfwpERXtuFK0VjhkPS4ksVuhGkcavqVxpi9NUCLkhMG-z70qhPA9cKiv8jtsaP07_7YA2aqQ_x1XT05RTKnpkf/s1600/392.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppvZWwW0tjduXTg83Vrf8lovHRWutEKbFxYU04n8IGcupLSbwGjUTcBvfwpERXtuFK0VjhkPS4ksVuhGkcavqVxpi9NUCLkhMG-z70qhPA9cKiv8jtsaP07_7YA2aqQ_x1XT05RTKnpkf/s320/392.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410090797538946674" /></a>But the really interesting story was semi-buried and mentioned briefly:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">A trip to the Westchester avenue station is worth the cab fare, in part because right next door is Concrete Plant Park, a combination green space and industrial archaeology project that runs along the Bronx River. Two sides of the station are visible from the street, and two sides are visible on the park side, for a 360-degree view of this train wreck of decay.</span></blockquote><br />So, let me get this right -- an abandoned train station and an urban archaeological site in the same place, in the Bronx?! How could I not immediately visit?<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXjAj_ncrx4ic6xym4FWZPN63oX7el3OmjfhNQXR3ITPOlncCpCHAG8mc7Isw8NGkELLqnCBayqJhLdYd-HbNuLtf8JYG-Y8v1fQPx2HaM7845-kdRJGSCVHTbTD64w9T91dNMzh2r71lY/s1600/412.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXjAj_ncrx4ic6xym4FWZPN63oX7el3OmjfhNQXR3ITPOlncCpCHAG8mc7Isw8NGkELLqnCBayqJhLdYd-HbNuLtf8JYG-Y8v1fQPx2HaM7845-kdRJGSCVHTbTD64w9T91dNMzh2r71lY/s320/412.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410093479584636322" /></a><br /><br /> <br />(note: This is an easy Bronx location to visit. The park is located right at the Whitlock Avenue subway station on the 6 line; the park entrance itself is at Westchester Avenue and the Sheridan Expressway.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiK4ARipo_PwlqG-rHlK9wkQ5_U4mfcdzGjnMI-E4auqcIPpistdwZClzz_cUEzS-_bpG97Y2Lti1nox9qgf3PZg0IsdALCtL37dVEDndOfMNz2d2IcetQummBjUfSo32mNE48J1PcO1NQ/s1600/445.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiK4ARipo_PwlqG-rHlK9wkQ5_U4mfcdzGjnMI-E4auqcIPpistdwZClzz_cUEzS-_bpG97Y2Lti1nox9qgf3PZg0IsdALCtL37dVEDndOfMNz2d2IcetQummBjUfSo32mNE48J1PcO1NQ/s200/445.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410088536192211602" /></a><a href="http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_about/parks_divisions/capital/parks/concrete_plant_bronx.html">Concrete Plant Park</a> is a non-typical name for a green space, but it seems that things are headed in a more organic direction when it comes to NYC parks. Just like <a href="http://www.thehighline.org/">the High Line</a>, effort was made to preserve a site's uniqueness. Highly-stylized yet organic-looking seating, wildflowers, and the use of stone landscaping create a sense of calm while accentuating the inherent historical industrial component of the locale. Yay, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVFJ6YXK9iz3qvHkNsqXLZ8_GSMytiWJd2c5yAWFUK2jCZ04GvDCLMexi_Yoy0qh3QcbohousE5_AUGDhg4V7syQG2IEONholUinvH7iE-UPHXyWG45eDAb6ILVEqU92KE6vr1HGm4vs9/s1600/399.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVFJ6YXK9iz3qvHkNsqXLZ8_GSMytiWJd2c5yAWFUK2jCZ04GvDCLMexi_Yoy0qh3QcbohousE5_AUGDhg4V7syQG2IEONholUinvH7iE-UPHXyWG45eDAb6ILVEqU92KE6vr1HGm4vs9/s320/399.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410089530509391074" /></a>Of course, a view of a body of water on a sunny day also helps. Looking just beyond the water, a park visitor sees a group of graffiti'd building. In the center of the park are various concrete plant fixtures, recently painted over with RustOleum (or at least that's what it looks like). The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gowanus_Canal">Gowanus Canal</a> also came to mind as an aesthetically-similar project. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgguOC0FRIrn_wfkt1Csw5RDkNNgaU2jw5eE4S0fdhB6hBkM31tjISv-arvrvSQG9vJlev4GTtiGALi9XX8NeImhK3Lmb3ZxPpBsAR4fiNGeIMD5es4o6ONzA0CgdLXf9q-2mJCOKk4Z3E/s1600/382.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgguOC0FRIrn_wfkt1Csw5RDkNNgaU2jw5eE4S0fdhB6hBkM31tjISv-arvrvSQG9vJlev4GTtiGALi9XX8NeImhK3Lmb3ZxPpBsAR4fiNGeIMD5es4o6ONzA0CgdLXf9q-2mJCOKk4Z3E/s200/382.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5410094029499469314" /></a>A lot of <a href="http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/11/25/bronx/doc4b06e8c2628e4878817344.txt">stories</a> already detail the acreage and costs associated with this park, which will be part of <a href="http://www.bronxriver.org/puma/images/usersubmitted/greenway_plan/">the Bronx Greenway</a> (our household is eagerly awaiting the completion of this project, so that we can easily bike through bigger swaths of the Bronx and Westchester County). All I want to convey is my feeling of happiness at discovering Concrete Plant Park. Connecting the Hunts Point and Soundview neighborhoods, I hope that the locals see the Park as the gem that it is. Taggers already got one of the chess tables (Really, they can't go after a bigger challenge?! Tagging a table is lame.), and we saw only three people in the park during our visit. (Two walked though the park together and one spent a considerable amount of time taking in his surroundings.) But it seems like a lot of events are held in the park during warmer seasons (there is a kayak launch), and I look forward to returning. A few child-focused details would've been nice, but there's a lot to take in/see/do. Still, the Parks logo located at the top of one of the towers made me chuckle.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-49477430060654081032009-07-14T07:01:00.015-04:002009-07-14T22:10:00.125-04:00Vergara exhibition at the New-York Historical Society<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUBPn6meMvK1TBHOpQsn82Y4EVsrK82OJ9_LeyiHv4YprM7_VX3ifFsS3nP2hTyKloG1578pn6Wrj4htnaCSojq__FtP9ZmbM_tN-pS71xE-ZE0Csq_wzk3b5JTLW2pOYS4HLx6tk0_6g/s1600-h/vergara_harlem.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbUBPn6meMvK1TBHOpQsn82Y4EVsrK82OJ9_LeyiHv4YprM7_VX3ifFsS3nP2hTyKloG1578pn6Wrj4htnaCSojq__FtP9ZmbM_tN-pS71xE-ZE0Csq_wzk3b5JTLW2pOYS4HLx6tk0_6g/s320/vergara_harlem.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5358496695663167442" /></a>Urban Landscaped readers know that <a href="http://urbanlandscaped.blogspot.com/2007/09/meeting-camilo-jose-vergara.html">I'm a fan of Camilo José Vergara's photographs and books</a>. Vergara has a distinct viewpoint blending UE photography, sociology, and street photography, and he's author of two of my favorite books <span style="font-style:italic;">American Ruins </span>and <span style="font-style:italic;">Unexpected Chicagoland</span>. But his work hasn't been shown on museum walls for a good couple of years in NYC; I missed that party in the late 1990s and early millennium. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Harlem 1970-2009: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara </span>was up at the New-York Historical Society through last Saturday, July 11th. I saw the show on its last day, or I would've posted earlier. <br /><br />I had incorrectly assumed that <span style="font-style:italic;">Harlem, 1970-2009 </span>would primarily consist of Vergara's "storefront" series, ie: his shots of the same storefront over a period of time (ie: <span style="font-style:italic;">2038 5th Avenue 1992, 1996, 1999, 2005</span>). I really like this series and saw him talk about it once over a private lunch gathering at The New York Public Library (and I received a place mat of the above series as a souvenir!). But a lot of this work is available on Vergara's <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://invinciblecities.camden.rutgers.edu/intro.html">Invincible Cities</a></span> website, and I wasn't chomping at the bit to see it on the wall.<br /><br />Instead, <span style="font-style:italic;">Harlem, 1970-2009 </span>demonstrated Vergara's mix of photography with a wide variety of styles and subject matter. (Looking at the dates of the work, it also seems that Vergara might've shot quite a bit specifically for the show.) <span style="font-style:italic;">Storefronts</span>, as the section was called, was a small part of the exhibition and consisted of only six groupings (one of which is reproduced on my place mat). Other sections were titled <span style="font-style:italic;">Transformations</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Heart of Harlem</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Religion</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Landmarks and Benchmarks</span>, <span style="font-style:italic;">Graphics</span>, and <span style="font-style:italic;">Obama</span>. If anything, Vergara tried to cover too much territory, covering forty years of Harlem in the one hundred photos on display. <br /><br />Street photography started the exhibition in a rather calm, understated way. Thankfully, it was assumed that "Harlem" was a known entity; no paragraphs based on the historical migration of people to its area. <span style="font-style:italic;">Storefronts</span> warmed the viewer up to representation through inanimate objects and landscape. <span style="font-style:italic;">Transformations</span>, my favorite section, followed. Transformations consisted of diptychs and triptychs, mainly slightly aerial, of specific intersections , ie: Frederick Douglass Boulevard between West 134th and West 135th Street (1993 and 2008) and Frederick Douglass and West 143rd Street (1988, 2001, and 2007). Parking lots and independent fish markets give way to office buildings with ground level Duane Reade and Chase Bank locations. It's a zoomed-out version of <span style="font-style:italic;">Storefronts</span> and Vergara's answer to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_klett">Mark Klett</a>'s Rephotographic Survey Project from the late 1970s. (I'm not even close to tiring of rephotography.)<br /><br />The only weak link in this section was the confusing diptych of <span style="font-style:italic;">Untitled (Harlem Welcomes President Clinton), 2001</span> and <span style="font-style:italic;">Untitled (Marathon), 2008</span>. While Vergara often doesn't rephotograph in a precise manner (he doesn't take out the GPS like Klett does), these two locales seemed disparate and needed additional information for the viewer. Does this duo convey a divestment of Harlem because the 2008 photo has a boarded-up building in the foreground? I don't know. But I bet that Vergara, who holds an M.A. in Sociology from Columbia, had ideas about this. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Graphics </span>featured murals (not graffiti, which has been featured in many shows recently) and was interesting. But fascinating was Vergara's narrative, in words, accompanying the images. In just a few sentences, Vergara dissected Harlem's mural trends from the last 40 years: 1970s murals were "angrily condemning racism and slavery"; "depictions of deceased drug dealers and their victims were popular" in the 1980s and 1990s. "Today the facades of buildings in Harlem advertise such products as gin, beer, Old Navy clothing, BMW sport cars, sneakers, black TV shows or schools, and rappers." Vergara's conversation with a building superintendent is summarized on a label accompanying a photo of a MLK mural located behind garbage cans (Coincidentally,the two men talked on MLK Day). A recent ad for 50 Cent's Formula 50 water is accompanied by labels claiming that 50 Cent and P Diddy are Harlem's current figureheads. <br /><br />The <span style="font-style:italic;">Religion</span> section of the exhibition featured photos taken from 2007 through 2009; there were photographs of churches and people (in their Sunday finest). Vergara has done the church beat before (see <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/__How_the_Other_Half_Worships_1109.html">How the Other Half Worships</a></span>). "Although there are over 300 congregations in Harlem today, many of the smaller ones have closed or moved, and Harlem is no longer an incubator of struggling churches." <br /><br />The photographs in <span style="font-style:italic;">Landmarks and Benchmarks</span> were not my favorite of Vergara's work, but there were a lot of interesting Harlem factoids. Do you know what "Koch" windows are? Isn't the Mount Morris Fire Watchtower an interesting structure? Why has the building that housed <a href="http://www.harlemonestop.com/organization.php?id=564">the Renaissance Ballroom and Casino</a> stayed shuttered since 1979? The photographic highlight was the cross formation of "security" photos, but stylistically, they were very different than the Vergara photos we know, and it was a bit of a turn-off. <br /><br />The <span style="font-style:italic;">Obama </span>and <span style="font-style:italic;">Sculpture</span> sections were interesting, but the exhibition would not have lacked in their absence. <span style="font-style:italic;">The Heart of Harlem</span> photographs were displayed in the center of the space and were nice street photography shots of electic Harlem residents. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Harlem, 1970-2009: Photographs by Camilo José Vergara</span> displayed a broader style of Vergara's photography; in and of itself, this made the show thought-provoking. Aesthetically, it seemed a bit like a Vergara retrospective (without <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/American-Ruins-Camilo-Jose-Vergara/dp/1580930565">American Ruins</a></span>, that is) with the cohesive subject matter of Harlem creating the bonds between different types of photographic works. <br /><br />While I was in the exhibition space, a group of approximately a dozen sightseers entered the space; most were in their 20's, but a few were older. After about ten minutes of looking at photographs on one side of the room, the tour guide/leader of the group asked the then-seated-and-ignoring-the-show group "What do you want to do?" Several voices responded quickly: "Shopping!" The tour guide was disappointed. "Really?" he asked. After several minutes of conversation about future plans, one 20-something male said, "(Let's) Go to 125th Street." The group left shortly thereafter. Most likely, the group shopped and got to see billboards of 50 Cent and P Diddy. But they probably didn't see Vergara's Harlem, and that's kind of sad.<br /><br />Image is Vergara's <span style="font-style:italic;">65 East 125th Street (2007)</span>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-55542800501151729062009-03-14T08:08:00.006-04:002009-03-22T08:57:28.856-04:00Plymouth, Montserrat<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NKLYUHH3cokyGIwNBQj3eIOZA3xeFF1f8de5GC9sCe2LHe7LgK1y4r7evVu8lBkZrVJtpcuKaKe-N59k-dQworLbeOyrVazR8F45xjW83UwAzPYAC0rKB4nrQH6Xy7dCgxVVVYVC0J31/s1600-h/62004347_90c56e6c88_o.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4NKLYUHH3cokyGIwNBQj3eIOZA3xeFF1f8de5GC9sCe2LHe7LgK1y4r7evVu8lBkZrVJtpcuKaKe-N59k-dQworLbeOyrVazR8F45xjW83UwAzPYAC0rKB4nrQH6Xy7dCgxVVVYVC0J31/s320/62004347_90c56e6c88_o.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315990507302017714" /></a><br />I first heard of Montserrat while reading CREEM magazine. Montserrat was the home of AIR Studios, where the English bougeoisie "rock" musicians went to record albums in the 1980s. (The Police, Paul McCartney, and Elton John all recorded there.) Plymouth is the capital of Montserrat and was the only port entry. I missed the news in 1997 when a volcano covered 80% of the city with over 4 feet of lava. <br /><br />Plymouth is a future archaeological site, although it seems that it would be so cost-prohibitive that the city will most likely never be dug out. It could be a great above-ground urban exploration site, but it is fenced off, due to possible danger of further volcanic action. <br /><br />Ed brought Plymouth, Montserrat to my attention, so thanks to him for most of the links. <br /><br />For basic info, start at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth,_Montserrat">the Wikipedia entry</a>. <br /><br />A few photos of the destruction can be seen <a href="http://www.paradise-islands.org/montserrat/plymouth.htm ">here</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.montserratvolcano.org/Visitors.htm">This page</a> is encouraging tourists to now-safe Montserrat. It provides a nice contrast to the previous photos. <br /><br />This is <a href="http://people.cornell.edu/pages/arg32/watson/montserrat.html">a first-person testimonial </a>to vacationing in Montserrat (two different photos of the destruction available). (I like the claim that if one drinks the water of Montserrat, he or she will return to the island.)<br /><br />Here's <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicesmooth/351925079/">a nice Flickr shot of the landscape</a>, taken from the Caribbean sea. <br /><br />Here's the entire collection of the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=Plymouth+Montserrat&s=int">tagged "Plymouth Montserrat" Flickr photos</a>. This is a great look-through.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Image is of postcard created and photographed by Qule Pejorian and available to share and remix via the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-44053948082116167632009-03-06T15:12:00.016-05:002009-03-11T11:09:37.667-04:00nostalgia photography<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviOadq2ki7cPUAGt6bT9qRqjqCy5ScTIXkXcCAA9BmMGDf3cVpgIAnws2S4ZBp9OgffoPXyEdpW_xi3Sw0uqlOHQEqzaMfN8fVKsl2jY3OBmyw09qGj1KC-VUkn356waN9oXmKBzK4OwD/s1600-h/vanishing_cover.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiviOadq2ki7cPUAGt6bT9qRqjqCy5ScTIXkXcCAA9BmMGDf3cVpgIAnws2S4ZBp9OgffoPXyEdpW_xi3Sw0uqlOHQEqzaMfN8fVKsl2jY3OBmyw09qGj1KC-VUkn356waN9oXmKBzK4OwD/s320/vanishing_cover.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310552122035762130" /></a>Is taking photos of abandoned places in America too often an act of nostalgia, and if so, what does that mean about the work? Is "urban exploration photography" an excercise in nostalgia? <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vanishing-America-Drive-Ins-Everyday-Monuments/dp/0847830403">Vanishing America: the End of Main Street: Diners, Drive-Ins, Donut Shops, and Other Everyday Monuments</a></span> by photographer Michael Eastman prompts the question. <span style="font-style:italic;">Vanishing America</span> has received rave reviews, and Eastman is often compared to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Frank">important and influential photographer Robert Frank</a>. <br /><br />There seems to be a good-sized group of photographers documenting the America of yesteryear. Sometimes this fits into my definition of urban exploration photography, and sometimes it doesn't. Michael Eastman straddles the dividing line, and in my opinion, it makes his work less spectacular.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong: Eastman's photographs are quite nice, and his subject matters are worth documenting. But he's doing too much in <span style="font-style:italic;">Vanishing America</span>, in my opinion, and his supposed subject suffers for it. <br /><br />Eastman divides subject matter into 10 chapters: Theaters, Churches, Hangouts, Doors, Signs, Stores, Services, Automobiles, Hotels, and Restaurants. There are photographers who could fill a book on one of these subjects, and have done so. (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Other-Half-Worships-Camilo-Vergara/dp/0813536820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1236457671&sr=1-1">Camilo Jose Vergara's <span style="font-style:italic;">How the Other Half Worships</span> </a>for churches; <a href="http://www.foto8.com/home/content/view/362/190/">Zoe Leonard's <span style="font-style:italic;">Analogue</span></a> for storefronts) and many others who have done extensive work documenting the other subjects and could fill a book given the opportunity (<a href="http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchresult.cfm?keyword=roy+colmer&x=0&y=0">Roy Colmers' <span style="font-style:italic;">Doors, NYC</span></a>, although dated and New York-based, is much more provoking and less architectural). <br /><br />Having said that, <span style="font-style:italic;">Vanishing America</span> is supposed to be about Main Street, USA. Most of us miss Main Street, I think, from New York City to New Orleans, St. Louis to Tempe, AZ. But are all of these photos really from what was the Main Street in these cities? I have my doubts, and it's a small photo titled "Dinosaur Parts" outside Sedona, Arizona (p87) that reinforces my reasoning. I ride the route from Phoenix to Sedona almost annually, and this doesn't look like the Main Street of Sedona (which is still very much an active Main Street). It looks like new sculptures created to entertain. And "outside Sedona, Arizona" doesn't scream "Main Street". One photo I really like is the "Interior of a Bar, Clarksdale, Missippi", which serves as an unofficial centerfold of the book, printed on two pages (p122-3) and depicting cheap white blinds with marker writing on each slat ("Bananarama 2002"; "Bacon Luvs Da Blues"; "Rhonda W. Cheryl P. 8/20/05"). But it doesn't speak Main Street, and it isn't really from yesteryear, as indicated by visible dates. <br /><br />Photos like "Fish, Pest Control, & Roofing, Saint Louis Missouri" (p91), "Geller's Shoes, Providence, Rhode Island" (p127), and "Along Highway 1, Guadalupe, California" (p94-5) do indeed support a theory that Main Street ain't what it used to be. But Eastman's desire to include interesting photos overrides his desire to provide a cohesive statement that isn't just nostalgia. Was "Red Building with Coke Sign, Southern Maine" (p190) really on a Main Street? (If so, wow, look at all of those TREES and SPACE.) And the one photo of NYC "Thirsty? (Slated for Demolition), Coney Island, New York" shows off the great Burlesque at the Beach paintings of Fire Eater and Madame Twisto, but this isn't really Main Street on Coney Island; it's a beach and boardwalk development. <br /><br />Eastman's photos are nice, but the book could've been better by tighter selection and adhering to the thesis. This is nostalgia in full force. <br /><br />Douglas Brinkley wrote the excellent foreword. so excellent that sections of it stand on their own, despite the constant crowing of Eastman's work. <br /><br /><blockquote>I'm genetically predisposed to visit the same locales Eastman shares with us in his dreamlike <span style="font-style:italic;">Vanishing America</span>. Where some might find gloom in these anti-Rockwellian photographs, I find a liberation from the glaring rat race of American life.<br /><br />Or maybe it's best to think of <span style="font-style:italic;">Vanishing America </span>as a book of Sunday photographs, since Sunday is the loneliest day of the week. Like in the Kris Kristofferson song "Sunday Morning Coming Down," I imagine Eastman surveying an empty Main Street while the new-fangled box-store churches on the outskirts of town are full of repenters. The murals he documents are not the kind Thomas Hart Benton erected to promote the vigorousness of Populist America. </blockquote><br /><br />I don't agree with everything Brinkley writes ("You're better off building a fire by the side of the road than trying to reclaim one of these hard-luck properties"; "Michael Eastman still needs to photograph your footprints"), but his essay is thought-provoking and ties the photos together in a way the photographs don't do themselves. <br /><br />I will use Brinkley's voice to make a final critique of Eastman. Brinkley writes "There are no Tennessee waltzes or Texas two-steps vibrating out of these juke joints, no 'Happy Trails' to close out the day at the music hall." I disagree. There's a photo of the interior of the Broken Spoke, a honky tonk music venue in Austin Texas (p44) across from a photo of an unnamed "Dance Hall" (also in Austin, Texas). The Broken Spoke is indeed still very active and heralded venue, and the photo of the "Dance Hall" looks like a nicely upkept place as well. Austin, Texas loves Americana and to say these photos are part of a Vanishing America is simplistic. People are still living this every day (in this case, probably every weekend). The aesthetic might be different than "the norm" (of non-Austin locales), but that doesn't make it Vanished. In fact, these photos indicate that this culture is CURRENT. These photos, and several others, show that along with the REAL photos supporting Eastman's hypothesis, there are photos supporting Eastman's own aesthetic experience of buildings and status quo. Overall, not only is <span style="font-style:italic;">Vanishing America </span>a nostalgic experience, it's a nostalgic experience of Eastman's own thoughts and assumptions, many of which are stereotypical and simplistic.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-52054266814871282742009-02-22T07:08:00.013-05:002009-02-22T08:26:32.807-05:00abandoned towns<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDa2TyEI75al-td3gTxNK01DWjbu7AFMnAR6VPPAqT1qZLgKIm6A13ri6Du8EBXy6bfEDHcpQancNfSSgSEE5-5IRFseCZnKfZJUK8r4v7y8xWPgs5TPYA_IsQUFf1mNo3btv8YjG4mkm/s1600-h/a.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 203px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuDa2TyEI75al-td3gTxNK01DWjbu7AFMnAR6VPPAqT1qZLgKIm6A13ri6Du8EBXy6bfEDHcpQancNfSSgSEE5-5IRFseCZnKfZJUK8r4v7y8xWPgs5TPYA_IsQUFf1mNo3btv8YjG4mkm/s320/a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305612435482485122" /></a>Now that the economy is in a bit of a free fall (or so it seems), I've noticed an increased number in articles about abandoned towns, cities, and neighborhoods. <br /><br />In the February 1 issue of <span style="font-style:italic;">The New York Times</span>, there was an article about Braddock, Pennsylvania, a "distressed municipality." Braddock is a former steel factory town. <br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">"Everyone in the country is asking 'Where's the bottom?'" said the mayor, John Fetterman. "I think we've found it."</blockquote></span><br /><br />Braddock's mayor is working to rebuild Braddock, publicizing it as a place to buy inexpensive real estate and build urban farms. He is also personally working to save a handful of buildings.<br /><br />After reading the article and looking at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braddock,_Pennsylvania">Braddock's Wikipedia entry</a>, a few factoids stuck out:<br /><blockquote><br />The first free library built by Andrew Carnegie was built in Braddock in 1887. <br /><br />In 1936, the first A & P supermarket opened in Braddock. <br /><br />Lauren Tewes, the actress who played Cruise Director Julie McCoy on <span style="font-style:italic;">The Love Boat</span> tv series, was born in Braddock. (I loved <span style="font-style:italic;">The Love Boat</span> as a child.)</blockquote><br /><br />Braddock will have another moment in the sun when <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/">the feature film <span style="font-style:italic;">The Road</span></a> opens up later this year. (note: <span style="font-style:italic;">The Road</span> was postponed from its November 2008 release after the U.S. financial markets melted, as "they" felt that the public didn't want to see an apocalyptic movie.)<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-weight:bold;">"If struggling communities don't preserve their architecture," Mr. Fetterman said, "there's no chance of any resurgence down the line." Sometime soon, he worries, Braddock will pass the point of no return. </span></blockquote><br /><br />This article makes me want to watch the movie and then visit Braddock and look for locales seen in the film. Perhaps an urban explorer tour guide wants to make some extra money giving tours? I bet the mayor would work with you to set up safe UE tours of Braddock. <br /><br />Mayor Fetterman's website is at <a href="http://www.15104.cc">www.15104.cc</a> . <br />(It's a pet peeve of mine that The Times' "policy" rarely allows for disclosure of websites it cites.)<br /><br />Here's the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/us/01braddock.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=braddock%20pennsylvania&st=cse">Times</span> article</a> and a <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.pittsburghcitypaper.ws/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A28774">Pittsburgh City Paper</span> article from 2006</a>. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Image taken from the "Ruins" section of the official Braddock website.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-7936738446612619282008-12-13T20:09:00.011-05:002008-12-13T21:23:20.709-05:00not quite abandoned<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPJQsXwkHygAxUKbE5MUCidAfjXByHNN7jBSfVkFITV1Ax6EYqfwp34enRg8eW7X8q-PGIlTIOa4Vke0CsglDPKdAyzntG1iNNFEoa-qUmIL88AlB2JbrNvhh4xNywb-q4Ok_KuMcMuQf/s1600-h/ashes-to-ashes-29.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjPJQsXwkHygAxUKbE5MUCidAfjXByHNN7jBSfVkFITV1Ax6EYqfwp34enRg8eW7X8q-PGIlTIOa4Vke0CsglDPKdAyzntG1iNNFEoa-qUmIL88AlB2JbrNvhh4xNywb-q4Ok_KuMcMuQf/s320/ashes-to-ashes-29.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279457879850428002" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/">Driven by Boredom</a></span> had a nice post this week about the closed New York Public Library location of the Donnell Library Center. (In full disclosure, I am on maternity leave from my job in the PR dept. of The New York Public Library.) Yes, it's true; this branch library will soon be renovated and much smaller, located in the basement of a luxury hotel. <br /><br />The post, which is accompanied by photos, is located <a href="http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/2008/12/11/the-donnell-library-center-a-eulogy-in-pictures/">here</a>. <br /><br />The entire group of photos is <a href="http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/dbb-gallery/Random%20Stuff/Donnell%20Library%20Says%20Goodbye%20-%2010.10.08/index.html">here</a>. <br /><br />I know that at least one other photographer took photos of the site as well, since she took photos a few months before it closed and then very close to its closing date. I accompanied her on the first shoot, as part of my job. I hope to see the results sometime. <br /><br />It is sad when libraries close. In Donnell's case, the building aged really badly. But the books and media within, of course, are timeless (for the most part).<br /><br />Months before the hotel acquisition was announced, I think I remember <span style="font-style:italic;">am New York</span> listing Donnell as a New York City building that should be destroyed. <br /><br />Two other thoughts: In May of this year, I posted about my dislike of <a href="http://urbanlandscaped.blogspot.com/2008/05/genre-of-office-urban-exploration.html">office urban exploration photography</a>. The Donnell photos fit into this genre aesthetically, for the most part. Context is everything, right? <br /><br />Looking at these photos, taken of a building right at its closing, reminds me of an instance several years ago when I had the pleasure of being present the day that the old <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_City_Medical_Center">Jersey City Medical Center</a> closed. <a href="http://www.creativepreservation.org">Ars Subterranea</a> photographers were present, so I hope to also see those photos in a future work.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-25931210448539877892008-08-01T20:20:00.009-04:002008-08-01T21:29:28.345-04:00waterfront Brooklyn, Treasure Island, and an update on the Lams of Ludlow Street<span style="font-weight:bold;">Nathan Kensinger's <span style="font-style:italic;">Twilight on the Waterfront: Brooklyn's Vanishing Industrial Heritage<br /></span></span><br />Urban explorer and <a href="http://kensinger.blogspot.com">blogger</a> Nathan Kensinger has an exhibition titled <span style="font-style:italic;">Twilight on the Waterfront: Brooklyn's Vanishing Industrial Heritage</span> up at the Brooklyn Public Library (the main branch at Grand Army Plaza) through this month. I haven't had the chance to see the show, but <span style="font-style:italic;">The New York Times</span>' <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/">City Room</a> </span>blog <a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/have-camera-will-trespass-on-brooklyns-waterfront/?scp=1&sq=kensinger&st=cse">ran a story about Kensinger yesterday</a>, along with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/07/31/nyregion/24-brook_index.html">a slide show</a> of a few of the images, and it looks beautiful. In my opinion, <a href="http://www.observer.com/node/39058">writer Sewell Chan</a> focused a little bit too much on the illegal aspect of Kensinger's exploration, but in his defense, it is eye-opening to come across the concept of urban exploration for the first time. (This is not meant as a slight to Chan; I love his work on the <span style="font-style:italic;">City Room</span>, and in full disclosure, as a publicist, I've worked with him several times on stories.)<br /><br />"His [Kensinger's] subjects range from the Domino sugar refinery in Williamsburg, part of which was declared a landmark in 2007; the ruins of the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse, which were ravaged by arson in 2006; and the haunting remains of Dead Horse Bay, where a 17th-century Dutch mill once stood," writes Chan. <br /><br />The article doesn't say how many images are in the exhibit; if you know, please tell me, as I'm curious. <br /><br />Here is my favorite image from the slideshow -- <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzHiDS8aM28w4DCsKAuv8KUcnz9PzMBCzIXzUmclChQOYPe-0-kBZ5BNMRaAL4YXlP2AKAnkh7VvJ-4M0n5yq6HJxMn1NfFUqku_haHdKv3KLMkyTrCoFyeAeXRGcW7M-czMfIx6FE9HM/s1600-h/batcave.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijzHiDS8aM28w4DCsKAuv8KUcnz9PzMBCzIXzUmclChQOYPe-0-kBZ5BNMRaAL4YXlP2AKAnkh7VvJ-4M0n5yq6HJxMn1NfFUqku_haHdKv3KLMkyTrCoFyeAeXRGcW7M-czMfIx6FE9HM/s320/batcave.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229715708011761074" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Photo of The Batcave by Nathan Kensinger. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Mehdi Saghafi's <span style="font-style:italic;">Treasure Island<br /></span><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hyoPVWHYNEpC0l_kaV2yNg_eXHQqjteUGnypzJQHqnPfNsX8-IOm2lApa_k8BbTSVHM035PspLxzu3AaBajO8BtrFBIOD2_cKVg7bIxH1FZnjq16Nk5NScGFsThyIOjjZWf8dbO23CQV/s1600-h/treasure_book.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hyoPVWHYNEpC0l_kaV2yNg_eXHQqjteUGnypzJQHqnPfNsX8-IOm2lApa_k8BbTSVHM035PspLxzu3AaBajO8BtrFBIOD2_cKVg7bIxH1FZnjq16Nk5NScGFsThyIOjjZWf8dbO23CQV/s320/treasure_book.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229721251623267218" /></a>Ah, if only I had unlimited funds, the photo book collection I would have! <a href="http://www.mehdisaghafi.com">Mehdi Saghafi</a>'s new book <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.photoeye.com/templates/mShowDetailsbycatAmazon.cfm?Catalog=ZD380&i=9780979362101">Treasure Island </a></span>is now available, at the price of $100, from <a href="http://www.photo-eye.com">Photo-Eye</a>. Saghafi works with panoramic images, and his use of various shades of gray is stunning. I'm looking forward to seeing his <span style="font-style:italic;">Delta Project</span>, but in the meantime, <span style="font-style:italic;">Treasure Island</span> should keep people sated. <br /><br />As Photo-Eye's book copy states, Treasure Island is "a 403 acre island in the San Francisco Bay made in 1935 and used by the military until the mid 1990s." <br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">News about the Lams (from NYPL's Eminent Domain exhibition)</span><br />A little over a month ago, the Lam family -- known as the subject of <a href="http://www.thomasholton.com">Thomas Holton</a>'s photographs in the <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://urbanlandscaped.blogspot.com/2008/05/disappearing-storefronts-of-lower-east.html">Eminent Domain</a></span> exhibit -- <a href="http://ninacorvallo.blogspot.com/2008/06/lams-of-ludlow.html">lost their home</a> in a Lower East Side fire. They've temporarily relocated to Harlem and are still holding out hope that they'll be able to return to Ludlow Street in the future. Holton has since raised approximately $8K to help the Lams; he's already delivered the check, so to speak. (And I am looking forward to receiving my print!)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-49017310294782788442008-07-26T15:08:00.017-04:002008-07-26T18:46:15.323-04:00abandoned gas stations, Detroit's Tiger Stadium, and moreI plan on posting more to this blog, really, I do. I've thought of dozens and dozens of posts and not had the time. This is going to change. Here are a few small tidbits in the meantime:<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Detroit's Tiger Stadium </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqY8uDxqmeewV66vK8JnnMFvnL7hj_klC6e_ro7EsVqV45Euwgf3BShHIc5QPfgG5DC1v7Kovg0PiIkV7-KiA8cbvToLzXhrm1t7HSWXrz06BAkwNuMXHdx9wGKrHoaIoWkXtpPaO0StjD/s1600-h/tigerstadium.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqY8uDxqmeewV66vK8JnnMFvnL7hj_klC6e_ro7EsVqV45Euwgf3BShHIc5QPfgG5DC1v7Kovg0PiIkV7-KiA8cbvToLzXhrm1t7HSWXrz06BAkwNuMXHdx9wGKrHoaIoWkXtpPaO0StjD/s200/tigerstadium.jpg"border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227407931200008914" /></a><br />The Packard Plant might be the biggest abandoned site in Detroit, but Tiger Stadium is/was the most public, as it's located on a main road and...a stadium. It doesn't cease to amaze me that every major city needs new stadiums built, at the expense of the taxpayers, every few years. Here in NYC, both the Yankees and the Mets are getting new stadiums. Anyways...after approximately eight years of non-use, the powers that be are currently in the process of deconstructing Tiger Stadium.<br /><br />There was/is an <a href="http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/BIZ/807160379/1409/METRO">unsuccessful conservation effort</a> of the stadium. <br />Last September, several photographers were allowed to enter the stadium and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/tigers9282007/interesting/">document its disrepair</a>. <br /><a href="http://fadeddetroit.blogspot.com">Faded Detroit </a>has blogged numerous times about Tiger Stadium. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Photo by <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/detroitderek/">Derek Farr (DetroitDerek), from Flickr</a>. (He has great photos of the demolition-in-progress as well.)</span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Call for Volunteers for Open House New York</span><br />Open House New York's annual weekend is scheduled this year for Saturday and Sunday, October 4 & 5. I've enjoyed visiting many of the architectural sites open during the event, and I've volunteered a couple of times over the years. Volunteering for a four-hour shift at one of the sites is a pretty stress-free way to contribute to this amazing New York event, and volunteers also get a free tee-shirt and a button that allows them to cut lines (at some locations) during their off-time. <br /><br />Open House New York's <a href="http://www.ohny.org">website </a>has more information. <br />Last year, I blogged about <a href="http://urbanlandscaped.blogspot.com/2007/10/open-house-new-york-sunday-october-7.html">my experience as a volunteer </a>and also about <a href="http://urbanlandscaped.blogspot.com/2007/10/open-house-new-york-saturday-october-6.html">my visits to other sites</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Camilo Jose Vergara's <span style="font-style:italic;">Out of Gas<br /></span></span>As the price of gas continues to increase, spending time at the pump grows increasingly painful and more unpopular. Somewhat outside of this context (but can it really be context-free?), <span style="font-style:italic;">The New York Times</span> recently published <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/06/12/opinion/0613-GASPUMPS_index.html">a brief slideshow of abandoned gas station photos taken by Camilo Jose Vergara</a>. Oddly enough, it was filed in the "Opinion" section. <br /><br />Here's my favorite photo from the slideshow:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPkQuowoSIoVrezqc4mab9Utn842VZniRx_DS1qPa6oGK7D5lFZ6xzq2Jp8obY-AbqZS4fg1iwZfZK8mn7B1ELaw_vZYqKeCP1Spnnh91A25kfP7kfCedc0rsZO-QYoKb02fa1vHyqVDo/s1600-h/vergaragasstation.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBPkQuowoSIoVrezqc4mab9Utn842VZniRx_DS1qPa6oGK7D5lFZ6xzq2Jp8obY-AbqZS4fg1iwZfZK8mn7B1ELaw_vZYqKeCP1Spnnh91A25kfP7kfCedc0rsZO-QYoKb02fa1vHyqVDo/s320/vergaragasstation.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5227418281147222658" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Sykes & Son Tire Repair, Grand River Avenue at Mendota Street, Detroit, 2002. Photo by Camilo Jose Vergara. </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-59908459062085519352008-07-15T19:02:00.003-04:002008-07-15T19:09:16.385-04:00Passenger series. New York City; June 24, 2008; 1:25:32 p.m.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvmGtawh_WFbpOSX1gYBHbnklqgspe2INU1Gbem1eUOjsd9MHesI8qR-CcwF0DfxPpAqWO5G41FgzVJLIbiMTT_zJIVvd0tCOZnIqfeISyaJqANfenR8w-J8pkdcRPZ4Xo3p1BSJYThTYF/s1600-h/P1040627.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvmGtawh_WFbpOSX1gYBHbnklqgspe2INU1Gbem1eUOjsd9MHesI8qR-CcwF0DfxPpAqWO5G41FgzVJLIbiMTT_zJIVvd0tCOZnIqfeISyaJqANfenR8w-J8pkdcRPZ4Xo3p1BSJYThTYF/s400/P1040627.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5223381820734365266" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-12897070608062442032008-05-28T16:50:00.013-04:002008-05-28T17:39:02.968-04:00'Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City' exhibition at The New York Public LibraryOne of the many hats I wear at my day job: I'm the publicist for an exhibition that opened on May 2 at The New York Public Library. If you're in the New York City area, <span style="font-style:italic;">Eminent Domain </span>is definitely a worthwhile exhibition to check out. Here's <a href="http://www.nypl.org/press/releases/?article_id=124">the press release</a>: <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Disappearing Storefronts of the Lower East Side, Life with a Chinatown Family, and Views from the Unseen Edges of New York City Featured in Major Photography Exhibition at The New York Public Library</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Five Contemporary Photographers Observe New York City’s Ongoing Evolution of Private and Public Urban Space in <span style="font-style:italic;">Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City</span> – May 2 to August 29, 2008</span><br /><br />Shifting views of public and private space through the cameras of five contemporary photographers reveal the constantly changing and often unfamiliar urban landscapes of New York City in <span style="font-style:italic;">Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City</span>, an exhibition of more than 200 photographs at The New York Public Library.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Eminent Domain</span> features the recent photographic projects of five New York-based artists that deal with the life of the city in terms of passage (of seasons and time, people and place) and exchange (between individual and collective, interior and exterior). The works, by Thomas Holton, Bettina Johae, Reiner Leist, Zoe Leonard, and Ethan Levitas, will be on view at The New York Public Library’s Humanities and Social Sciences Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street from May 2 to August 29, 2008. Admission is free.<br /><br />“Turning on the nature of photography itself – which always complicates the relationship between public and private – all five projects resonate with current debates about the reorganized urban landscape, whether through the effects of gentrification, globalization, or municipal redevelopment,” said Stephen C. Pinson. exhibition curator and the Robert B. Menschel Curator of Photography, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs of The New York Public Library. “While none of the photographers’ works specifically address the legal concept of eminent domain – or the taking of private property for public use – all of the projects deal with the timely topic of the changing nature of space in New York City today. A photograph, after all, is a transaction between the private and the public that is negotiated through the taking of an image – a kind of eminent domain of the visual realm.”<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtD9sJ9Y9BYDS25vf0bBtg6Vf_C6vFFlJlE0EvI1ZhVIavwx_N2s1d4Ux9pK0ujaKKULF-lrASZ9o4KkgJwbR3Qr2-BXc38UtcMncRDXh2oAkz9hHwGiYrdXeW_89rR5Y6yWJt17ye7Jlk/s1600-h/holton.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtD9sJ9Y9BYDS25vf0bBtg6Vf_C6vFFlJlE0EvI1ZhVIavwx_N2s1d4Ux9pK0ujaKKULF-lrASZ9o4KkgJwbR3Qr2-BXc38UtcMncRDXh2oAkz9hHwGiYrdXeW_89rR5Y6yWJt17ye7Jlk/s320/holton.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205545194645463826" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Thomas Holton </span>became very close with the Lam family in Chinatown, photographing the family of five living its everyday family life, at their apartment, school, and grocery market and even attending weddings and traveling to China and Hong Kong to visit relatives. Holton’s color photos of <span style="font-style:italic;">The Lams of Ludlow Street</span> (2003-2005) are accompanied by Polaroid photos taken by the three Lam children, including their viewpoint as well as Holton’s empathetic perspective on being a Chinese family in New York City’s Chinatown. (image: Thomas Holton. <span style="font-style:italic;">Untitled</span> from the series <span style="font-style:italic;">The Lams of Ludlow Street</span>.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6meM2asMn3LFbIx1pc3aA2ag5o30hzX9lA6LyuMCrv0Kt6mtdHhZ4sWCs8nYA5slu-4L1du-kLVjkOS7qHZ0SlUI3K6uPp2O61cHOwnuiElaUeefB5rxCF_OqWv9tOvtAl5d7_EDLR4E/s1600-h/johae.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd6meM2asMn3LFbIx1pc3aA2ag5o30hzX9lA6LyuMCrv0Kt6mtdHhZ4sWCs8nYA5slu-4L1du-kLVjkOS7qHZ0SlUI3K6uPp2O61cHOwnuiElaUeefB5rxCF_OqWv9tOvtAl5d7_EDLR4E/s320/johae.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205546173898007346" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bettina Johae</span>’s <span style="font-style:italic;">borough edges, nyc </span>(2004-2007) includes color photographs, digital slideshows, and a new remapping of New York City’s five boroughs. While undertaking a total of 27 bike rides in all five boroughs (The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island), Johae photographed the perimeter of each borough along its farthermost accessible path, displaying areas seldomly seen or included in representations of New York City. A beautiful, abandoned shipyard is located among the green fields of Rossville, Staten Island; traditional houses perched upon garages are spotted in Manhattan’s Marble Hill; and an airplane is shown flying a little too close for comfort above a two-story house in Queens’ Warnerville/Rosedale neighborhood. (image: Bettina Johae. <span style="font-style:italic;">si_4888 rossville, staten island</span> from the <span style="font-style:italic;">borough edges, nyc</span> series.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFSoHlLWUHNdZKeibURyQoAxfDmubEDibIEijECTyTpR1_tAp7Gv2hLT3g_fSEMVGsVGnBA8KsuH6loZsQvZ3aMSONaiMclZyFcPOmtSb3pSdN4O6vjnjCtSuWfLiK8OKDtqaS2NGy3i0/s1600-h/leist.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyFSoHlLWUHNdZKeibURyQoAxfDmubEDibIEijECTyTpR1_tAp7Gv2hLT3g_fSEMVGsVGnBA8KsuH6loZsQvZ3aMSONaiMclZyFcPOmtSb3pSdN4O6vjnjCtSuWfLiK8OKDtqaS2NGy3i0/s320/leist.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205544219687887602" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Reiner Leist</span> offers a more intimate view of the city in his <span style="font-style:italic;">Window</span> series (1995-present), using a nineteenth-century view camera to photograph the scene from his studio on the 26th floor of an office building on Eighth Avenue. Leist has taken a photograph daily since March of 1995 at varying times of the day. (If he was unable to take a photograph, the day is represented by a black print.) The series becomes an ongoing portrait of the subtle and radical changes in the New York City skyline that includes One Penn Plaza, Madison Square Garden, and until September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center. On display are the images taken on September 11-15 from 1995-2007, including September 12, 2001, which documented the day following the World Trade Center attack. (image: Reiner Leist. <span style="font-style:italic;">September 12, 2001</span> from the <span style="font-style:italic;">Window </span>series.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4289aPRk6l1gwqou7K32AjJBWhHkTYjFvrjmwBNxqpmGZMc6NQ-8OABTiFv3TOm9X4fqLZTKoFIZMiH7gCWXLn_a_FZGZcgkKx363o9ZDUt3xcjxszmpN2yKT_WJjafanzufXZTOxdqFx/s1600-h/Leonard.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4289aPRk6l1gwqou7K32AjJBWhHkTYjFvrjmwBNxqpmGZMc6NQ-8OABTiFv3TOm9X4fqLZTKoFIZMiH7gCWXLn_a_FZGZcgkKx363o9ZDUt3xcjxszmpN2yKT_WJjafanzufXZTOxdqFx/s320/Leonard.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205544408666448642" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Zoe Leonard</span>’s <span style="font-style:italic;">Analogue</span> (1998-2007) is a lyrical documentation of the City’s slowly disappearing local character in the wake of a global economy. Although centered on the storefronts of the Lower East Side and Brooklyn, the project also touches upon the route and destination of New York’s castoff clothing in the contemporary rag trade. As its name suggests, the series is also an elegy of sorts for a long-standing tradition of documentary photography, which Leonard sees passing with the onset of digital photography. The images on display comprise a portfolio of forty dye transfer prints, an increasingly rare process of color printing that is itself in jeopardy of obsolescence. (image: Zoe Leonard. <span style="font-style:italic;">Drop Off A.M., Pick Up P.M. </span>from the <span style="font-style:italic;">Analogue</span> series.)<br /><br />Elevated subway cars from the J, M, and Z lines seem to be the subject in <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ethan Levitas</span>’s <span style="font-style:italic;">Untitled/This is just to say </span>(2004-2007), but these color photographs also show passengers in various forms of private and public life: A man standing in between cars during a snowstorm smokes a cigarette; Hassidic Jews are engrossed in conversation; a woman staring directly at the camera seems to be the only passenger in an otherwise empty car. The trains become microcosms of the City as the project functions to collapse the distinction between our private and public selves. (image: Ethan Levitas. "#75" from the <span style="font-style:italic;">Untitled/This is just to say</span> series.)<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbbC5WPj6BhuWSXwj7gQarVIv3msrAs_3a9-jlIC2u25MKxofVSj9iGXugbDqibE-Vi-3pykHbFN2bVXlJhX73gIwv4Ys__tQY_2tZ5JqmXAhnsnuKhqZtnjQkyIf5z8ahY-Z2sRfJqsX/s1600-h/levitas.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFbbC5WPj6BhuWSXwj7gQarVIv3msrAs_3a9-jlIC2u25MKxofVSj9iGXugbDqibE-Vi-3pykHbFN2bVXlJhX73gIwv4Ys__tQY_2tZ5JqmXAhnsnuKhqZtnjQkyIf5z8ahY-Z2sRfJqsX/s320/levitas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205545370739122978" /></a><br />In addition to the five photographers’ works, artist <span style="font-weight:bold;">Glenn Ligon </span>contributes a personal written narrative about all of his New York City residences in <span style="font-style:italic;">Housing in New York: A Brief History</span> (2007) which was commissioned for this exhibition. Ligon’s writings are interspersed throughout the exhibition space, reminding viewers that behind the (now) public images lie myriad personal and private stories.<br /><br />The exhibition is presented in The New York Public Library’s largest exhibition space at the landmark building on 42nd Street, and its design complements the photographers’ themes in creative ways: Ethan Levitas’s large images of subway cars are displayed on the space’s longest wall, side-by-side, replicating a subway train. Thomas Holton’s photographs of the Lam family are shown in a semi-enclosed space reminiscent in size of a small apartment. Reiner Leist’s images of the cityscape outside his window are shown as a selection of framed prints and as a larger group in a digital slideshow so that viewers can appreciate both the intimacy and the seriality of the project. Ten images from each borough of Bettina Johae’s landscapes are available for viewing through flipbooks attached to the wall, and five slideshows of images (one for each borough) are displayed next to Johae’s hand-drawn remapping of the city. Finally, works by each of the photographers are installed outside the exhibition space, in the more “public” spaces of the Library.<br /><br />Stephen C. Pinson, exhibition curator and the Robert B. Menschel Curator of Photography, The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs of The New York Public Library, acquired the materials on view after receiving funds from a benefactor specifically designated to purchase photographs that enhance the Library’s collection of New York City views from 1950 to the present day. Bettina Johae’s series <span style="font-style:italic;">borough edges, nyc </span>(2004-2007) was the Photography Collection’s first digital acquisition. An online version of <span style="font-style:italic;">borough edges, nyc</span>, also commissioned by The New York Public Library, will be available on the exhibition website at <a href="http://exhibitions.nypl.org/eminent">http://exhibitions.nypl.org/eminent</a>.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Companion Volume</span><br />Edited by and including an introduction by curator Stephen C. Pinson, <span style="font-style:italic;">Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City </span>features highlights from the five photographic projects presented in the exhibition. The book includes statements about their work from each of the photographers: Thomas Holton, Bettina Johae, Reiner Leist, Zoe Leonard, and Ethan Levitas. All of their projects intersect and resonate with current concerns about the reorganization of urban space, and its public use, in New York City. Also included as a counterpoint is artist Glenn Ligon’s literal narrative of his own housing in the city as a reminder that behind these (now) public images lie myriad personal and private stories. Published by The New York Public Library. 80 pages, 7 x 8 in., 70 images in color and b/w, eminent domain court case time line, suggested readings. $22.50. Softcover. ISBN 978-0-87104-460-0.<br /><br />Books are available from The Library Shop at Fifth Avenue and 42 nd Street. Mail, phone, and Internet orders are accepted. For more information, call 212.930.0641 or visit <a href="http://www.libraryshop.org">www.thelibraryshop.org</a>.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Curatorial Tours</span><br />Curatorial tours with exhibition curator Stephen Pinson are scheduled for Wednesday, May 14 at 11:15 a.m. and Friday, June 3 at 6:30 p.m. Tours are limited to 20 people. Register in advance via e-mail at <span style="font-weight:bold;">southcourt@nypl.org</span> or call 212.930.9284.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Docent Tours</span><br />Free public tours of <span style="font-style:italic;">Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City </span>are conducted Monday through Saturday at 12:30 and 2:30 p.m.; and Sunday (through May 18) at 3:30 p.m. All group tours, including school groups, must be scheduled well in advance. Unauthorized tours are not permitted. To schedule a tour, call 212.930.0501. Group tours are $7 per person for adults ($5 for seniors); no charge for full-time students.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Additional Public Programs</span><br />Visit the exhibition website at <a href="http://exhibitions.nypl.org/eminent">http://exhibitions.nypl.org/eminent</a> for details about additional programs.<br />Other artists, photographers, and interested public are invited to participate in a collaborative, online project on the theme of eminent domain through a link on the exhibition website.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">borough edges, nyc</span><br /><br />A series of bike tours to selected edges of the five boroughs, led by photographer Bettina Johae. Each tour begins at 12 noon and will last approximately three hours. Rides will be at an easy pace and for all ages and fitness levels. Interested individuals should e-mail <span style="font-weight:bold;">be@bettinajohae.com</span>.<br /><br />May 11 – The Bronx<br /><br />May 18 – Manhattan<br /><br />June 1 – Queens<br /><br />June 15 – Brooklyn<br /><br />June 22 – Staten Island<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Eminent Domain: Contemporary Photography and the City</span> will be on view from May 2 through August 29, 2008 in the D. Samuel and Jeane H. Gottesman Exhibition Hall at The New York Public Library’s Humanities and Social Sciences Library, located at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan. The exhibition is open during regular Library hours: Monday, Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Sunday (through May 18), 1-5 p.m. Closed the following days: Saturday, May 24; Monday, May 26; Friday and Saturday, July 4 and 5. Admission is free. For more information, call 212.592.7730 or visit <a href="http://www.nypl.org">www.nypl.org</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">About the Photography Collection</span><br />The Photography Collection of The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs comprises approximately 400,000 photographs, including examples of almost every photographic process from the earliest daguerreotypes to contemporary digital images.<br /><br />The Photography Collection was developed in 1980 when images culled from other NYPL departments and branches were brought together to form a new division. The historically stated focus of the collection has been "documentary photography," a term originally coined in the 1930s to describe the work of photographers who attempted to document specific social conditions. The Photography Collection, which has significant holdings in this area, actually encompasses a much broader range of the medium, including images made for commercial, industrial, and scientific application as well as images for the press and other print media, the vernacular of amateur snapshot photography, and original works intended for exhibition and/or the art market.<br /><br />Future collection activity and development will focus on fulfilling the department's role as the most accessible public resource in New York City for the study of photographs and the history of photography.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />About The New York Public Library</span><br />The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with the Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free and open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. It comprises four research centers - the Humanities and Social Sciences Library; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and the Science, Industry and Business Library - and 87 Branch Libraries in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, and English as a second language. The New York Public Library serves over 16 million patrons who come through its doors annually and another 25 million users internationally, who access collections and services through its website, <a href="http://www.nypl.org">www.nypl.org</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Acquisition of works for this exhibition was made possible through the Estate of Leroy A. Moses, which provided funds to purchase photographs that enhance the Library's collection of New York City views from 1950 to the present day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Support for this exhibition has been provided by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., and by an anonymous contribution in honor of Elizabeth Rohatyn.<br /><br />Additional support has been provided by </span>The L Magazine, <span style="font-style:italic;">the exhibition's Media Sponsor.<br /><br />Support for The New York Public Library’s Exhibitions Program has been provided by Celeste Bartos, Mahnaz I. and Adam Bartos, Jonathan Altman, and Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III.</span><br /><br />###Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-39912528416278141222008-05-27T23:54:00.008-04:002008-05-28T00:31:15.292-04:00the genre of office urban exploration photography?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSSj0dhejZsEklJ23rJZcTSQWCrK1Nzh4V7mG1boBlivMzA6KW9jkqRR_uAQ_yzUGjr45pcAcH8T5nTZTeinwggn_7uqpZrdoGLsmuVwmLvJaJ_ilavgaq7RoDo78t_I_qa8FLi0m5097/s1600-h/toledano.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCSSj0dhejZsEklJ23rJZcTSQWCrK1Nzh4V7mG1boBlivMzA6KW9jkqRR_uAQ_yzUGjr45pcAcH8T5nTZTeinwggn_7uqpZrdoGLsmuVwmLvJaJ_ilavgaq7RoDo78t_I_qa8FLi0m5097/s320/toledano.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205281041271857826" /></a><br />Over the weekend, <a href="http://boingboing.net">Boing Boing</a>, <a href="http://laughingsquid.com">Laughing Squid</a>, and other cool blogs linked to Phillip Toledano's <span style="font-style:italic;">Bankrupt</span> series, in which the photographer took photos of recently abandoned offices. I first came across Toledano's work about a month and a half ago while searching for new discoveries of photo books. I wondered then if <span style="font-style:italic;">Bankrupt</span> is related philosophically to urban exploration photography. I think it is, but the series still leaves me cold, and I haven't fully decided why: Is it because there is electricity on in the buildings? Has the building not actually been abandoned? Is it because I spend a good portion of my life in an office and don't regard these images as new, or perhaps different enough from me? Is it the fluorescent lighting? Is it Toledano's aesthetic style? Is it because the rooms' architectural styles are so dreary? <br /><br />What do you think? Is <span style="font-style:italic;">Bankrupt</span> a twice-removed cousin from "traditional" urban exploration photography? Why or why not? Does Toledano's work resonate with you?<br /><br />The links:<br /><br /><a href="http://mrtoledano.com/frame_bankrupt.php">Phillip Toledano's online version of his <span style="font-style:italic;">Bankrupt</span> series at mrtoledano.com</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.philliptoledano.net/main.php?setId=1">Toledano's online version of <span style="font-style:italic;">Bankrupt</span> at philliptoledano.net</a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiljEmUwzXvKF1IP8B1R8aacY3rY20jRHYAxevupQLVhuKNN9IiM_tv-Lb9suEFRgGtBX1awS9Y9w3j252ueNZnGc3OLfLpa8_ZsWtyNoFiNklnESfRk-fUIV8tn5Qu8j-zzgqVwecrcJ/s1600-h/toledanotext.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNiljEmUwzXvKF1IP8B1R8aacY3rY20jRHYAxevupQLVhuKNN9IiM_tv-Lb9suEFRgGtBX1awS9Y9w3j252ueNZnGc3OLfLpa8_ZsWtyNoFiNklnESfRk-fUIV8tn5Qu8j-zzgqVwecrcJ/s400/toledanotext.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205279018342261394" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">statement from philliptoledano.net</span><br /><br />Do these images "document the high cost of human failure"? (I'm not convinced.)<br /><br />Is there an "unsettling, Pompeii-like stillness to recently abandoned offices"? (Eh, maybe? I'm indifferent. Convince me otherwise...)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-61585150744824338692008-05-26T07:42:00.009-04:002008-05-26T10:08:50.172-04:00Time Out New York carries the flashlightArs Subterranea was included in <span style="font-style:italic;">Time Out New York</span>'s "Extreme issue" a couple of issues ago. Billie Cohen from TONY, who wrote <a href="http://www.arssubterranea.org/media/TimeOut.htm">the first significant piece about Ars Subterranea in 2002</a>, accompanied us on a daytime exploration. Since TONY is a NYC-based publication, the site had to be within the City's five boroughs. <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><span style="font-weight:bold;">Time Out New York / Issue 659 : May 14–20, 2008</span> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Extreme<br /><br />We’re thrilled for you<br /><br />Superheroes aren’t the only ones who can leap tall buildings, see in the dark or pummel evil opponents named Drunkin Janitur. In NYC, anyone can—even us.<br /></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWkdkTY52Q3cOXx83jEGnUPoS2V8HPPq-l0lo_QaHG2PNfwMMZvxTgOTQybXaJJ4_h6iUqsu0EeLklyvz-VRND6iNwXw0Rm9tDnVkPAO677_6daAVRSAAKisZ1iJyDhg9B_ekS2zHFYLo/s1600-h/tonyillustration.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWkdkTY52Q3cOXx83jEGnUPoS2V8HPPq-l0lo_QaHG2PNfwMMZvxTgOTQybXaJJ4_h6iUqsu0EeLklyvz-VRND6iNwXw0Rm9tDnVkPAO677_6daAVRSAAKisZ1iJyDhg9B_ekS2zHFYLo/s320/tonyillustration.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204655260241863250" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Illustration: Thomas Pitilli (appearing in TONY). </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Urban spelunking</span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.timeout.com/newyork/articles/features/29567/were-thrilled-for-you/2.html"><span style="font-style:italic;">View extreme photos of urban spelunking (Photos Cohen took of the exploration.)</a><br /></span><br />I’m shining a flashlight down a long, dark tunnel. The beam settles on a staircase at the opposite end, seemingly a million miles away. Everything else is hidden in blackness, except for the dust swirling in front of me. “This is how horror movies start,” I say.<br /><br />The group behind me laughs in polite acknowledgment of the newbie’s jitters. “We usually let the person who’s never done this go first,” my guide, Julia Solis, had said, as if she were giving me a Christmas present.<br /><br />But it’s a gift I asked for. In this city, as in many others around the world, brave—and, some would argue, stupid—cadres of people climb, shimmy, tiptoe and probe through abandoned buildings, forgotten tunnels and forsaken ruins. They call themselves “urban explorers.” The ones I’ve sought out run a local arts organization called Ars Subterranea (<span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.arssubterranea.org">arssubterranea.org</a></span>), which (legally) presents exhibitions and events in deserted gems such as the old Long Island Railroad tunnel under Atlantic Avenue and the Bronx Borough Courthouse. “Ars Subterranea preserves forgotten architectural relics through creating experiences with sites or locations,” explains Gayle Snible, an explorer who also serves as the group’s publicity director.<br /><br />Today we’re scouting a site for documentation purposes, and I am sworn to secrecy about the location to protect its integrity. What I can reveal is that it’s a complex of early-20th-century buildings. They are stately, with columned entries, brick facades and big windows, many sealed with cinder blocks. Solis warns me to be careful of the floors; often they are not solid. These, however, are—they’re just covered with layers of brick dust, debris and something that looks suspiciously like asbestos.<br /><br />Dangers aside, the decay is at once haunting and elegant. “I have a preference for hospitals,” says Solis, Ars Subterranea’s founder. “If you want to see what it means to be human, they’re the best places. You can go to a museum, but in a hospital there’s nothing between you and reality.”<br /><br />The complex we’re exploring today wasn’t that kind of institution, but we still see rusted bed frames and other evidence of past lives: in the basement, piles of discarded office chairs; in the long dormitory rooms, eroded radiator covers; in one cubby, small plastic football figures; and in a closet, shelves labeled DRESSING TRAYS and MORGUE PACK.<br /><br />When I emerge from the closet, I don’t see anyone else. I beat back an eruption of terror, certain I’m going to get picked off by some dude from <span style="font-style:italic;">Hostel</span>. But then I hear the rustling footsteps of my crew, each caught up in their own discoveries. One is awed by unbroken lightbulbs, Julia is drawn to staircases, and I find I have a thing for slivers of light shining through very dark spaces. As I build courage throughout the day, I turn off my flashlight to see where cracked walls, broken windows and roof holes let the sun sneak through.<br /><br />When we finally emerge, I can’t believe it’s still daylight. The safety of noon hadn’t been tangible in the musty blackness inside, but now I hear kids playing ball at a nearby field and church bells ringing somewhere. I make a mental note about the fickleness of perception. Safe in the bright day, I feel pleased with myself, even a bit cocky. I can’t wait to go into the dark again. Although next time, I might bring a bigger flashlight. — <span style="font-style:italic;">Billie Cohen</span><br /><br />----------------<br />-- and a couple of photos I took during our visit:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLKhEVYIdY0shrcxRF60qilQmBF058qXakFMkB2r7GddeQZAj0oaucdJP4enhVSB3vZuJi0iCLyLNBbRP8TGUXzHlaRpZa70LSuvMAm1570Bfc47yt2crJ2X0sP-_VvkPC5Wes_8fOVE4/s1600-h/P1040367.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLKhEVYIdY0shrcxRF60qilQmBF058qXakFMkB2r7GddeQZAj0oaucdJP4enhVSB3vZuJi0iCLyLNBbRP8TGUXzHlaRpZa70LSuvMAm1570Bfc47yt2crJ2X0sP-_VvkPC5Wes_8fOVE4/s320/P1040367.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204659645403472482" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNnBQ0UJ0nz_rxuRsId2SvFDgATmdvXGhWxBXXLC5a3SighM4aoEbSBWj8p8Y7tOWU0RuUBwzgu1teJ67wJqteyz1huoLMu2fm0tvcUmzuAzqV7YkPwM1I8TKJpS2sQwkGs830iGuZusk/s1600-h/P1040372.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTNnBQ0UJ0nz_rxuRsId2SvFDgATmdvXGhWxBXXLC5a3SighM4aoEbSBWj8p8Y7tOWU0RuUBwzgu1teJ67wJqteyz1huoLMu2fm0tvcUmzuAzqV7YkPwM1I8TKJpS2sQwkGs830iGuZusk/s320/P1040372.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204659847266935410" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgDdQokWrB9xiujwKiJCLXsXh7Pj1Lo8GUA2eyvkYyhB4LlW2d3QSonR0cqWJr1XDSOYQGErvrq2QcimECZpv88r1hU73YngDwIKrnzHAGywSMiWj4eJ0jp0Vn8EE6YkYIIEIoia_Kaiw/s1600-h/P1040331.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibgDdQokWrB9xiujwKiJCLXsXh7Pj1Lo8GUA2eyvkYyhB4LlW2d3QSonR0cqWJr1XDSOYQGErvrq2QcimECZpv88r1hU73YngDwIKrnzHAGywSMiWj4eJ0jp0Vn8EE6YkYIIEIoia_Kaiw/s320/P1040331.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204660057720332930" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-50929209750830024422008-05-25T22:57:00.016-04:002008-05-26T07:36:09.494-04:00Sound the Alarm<a href="http://www.wavehill.org">Wave Hill </a>was moderately crowded today with visitors wanting to get away from the urban jungle for a short commune with nature. Here are a couple of photos of plants that I particularly enjoyed (the cacti greenhouse is surprisingly extensive):<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN04qXLMzIg60p52Fprnq-TMw6Jl-Az6BxRIpeX78Rp0qmViDbRugV00Pc2j-Mj5qh9ghpDQ06KCjpLhH_251R3wvbjZFBEHHAYDxRaaZ_XxTVtVoTo7ZIjVdbUZnLa-6ZbtrzerNfpa72/s1600-h/P1040418.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN04qXLMzIg60p52Fprnq-TMw6Jl-Az6BxRIpeX78Rp0qmViDbRugV00Pc2j-Mj5qh9ghpDQ06KCjpLhH_251R3wvbjZFBEHHAYDxRaaZ_XxTVtVoTo7ZIjVdbUZnLa-6ZbtrzerNfpa72/s320/P1040418.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204528266648855058" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip77nKAyJ_hsoBjN3fx_h8Nm0lRp1pIfChPQh0qCZxczLNyJFNWDo9Wq_vnHm7D9ayGRQRoQgwYZO4omGOjsVUYswH5sDIufFJcz8hULgYrHT3ot6sVeW_RUqv5a9Nm8jpvi04pe1ayptO/s1600-h/P1040420.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip77nKAyJ_hsoBjN3fx_h8Nm0lRp1pIfChPQh0qCZxczLNyJFNWDo9Wq_vnHm7D9ayGRQRoQgwYZO4omGOjsVUYswH5sDIufFJcz8hULgYrHT3ot6sVeW_RUqv5a9Nm8jpvi04pe1ayptO/s320/P1040420.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204528468512317986" /></a><br /><br />It was good timing that I was able to see the current exhibition up in the Wave Hill Glyndor Gallery, <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://wavehill.org/arts/sound_the_alarm.html">Sound the Alarm: Landscapes in Distress</a></span> (up through June 1). Featuring the work of eight artists, the exhibition "calls attention to the indelible impact of human activity on the environment from the Arctic to the Equator," according to the show's curators. Most of the work is interesting, although I only knew <a href="http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/56">Edward Burtynsky</a>'s work by name beforehand. <a href="http://www.travisroozee.com">Travis Roozee</a> tells a partial story of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centralia,_Pennsylvania">Centralia, Pennsylvania</a>, a town I've wanted to visit for years now. (He also did a series called <span style="font-style:italic;">Rooftop Brooklyn</span> that I remember, because it's about birds...Bushwick pigeons, to be specific.) <a href="http://wavehill.org/arts/gilles_mingasson.html">Gilles Minasson's photo of teens ice hopping</a> was simultaneously playful and sinister. Sergio Vega's images were interesting, factually, but there wasn't enough of it to be cohesive enough, and the inkjet print quality of his image "Jose Dias Soares Farm at Rochedo (field)" (2007) was distracting. <br /><br />The find of the exhibition was the discovery of Sasha Bezzubov's <span style="font-style:italic;">Things Fall Apart</span> series. Bezzubov documents the ruins of natural disasters. (Although <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kimberly-brooks/the-art-of-global-warming_b_92798.html">this article </a>states, too simplistically and mistakenly, that the natural disasters he documents are actually the result of man.) Bezzubov brings his vision to disaster photography, traveling to India (after the 2001 earthquake), Indonesia (after the 2005 tsunami), and California (after a 2003 wildfire). (He's also traveled to Missouri and Floria after hurricanes and to Utah after a wildfire, as seen on his website.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjseVq_2ZGQ_CtS819fGsH_bkTV83cynYIf6CReEB3a8AeqznPEnTIJMUNAoqtnZqxh11KJLA3KvsLT7wCsZQH0DwT4n5RmdEWP3eznGTSqqwTK17lAs7ZzI2VOPFGtvNjFBUoY3lAl3hHA/s1600-h/P1040424.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjseVq_2ZGQ_CtS819fGsH_bkTV83cynYIf6CReEB3a8AeqznPEnTIJMUNAoqtnZqxh11KJLA3KvsLT7wCsZQH0DwT4n5RmdEWP3eznGTSqqwTK17lAs7ZzI2VOPFGtvNjFBUoY3lAl3hHA/s400/P1040424.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204535589568094770" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">at the</span> Sound the Alarm <span style="font-style:italic;">exhibition: Sasha Bezzubov's "Wildfire #4, California" (2003) from the series </span>Things Fall Apart. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5obOFYOPDer39FxSKGDfq6qFYIOkDsbKyNwaYG0wYPtWge1DaMtLutU_hYwrpsoGTSafJSFs5yOTEO2fKQ8sCaesYqnxVdQH42OXK5WIto0wP28V_Q45wQmimxQHJbvE1pSQ3MvC_V3I/s1600-h/bezzubov1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5obOFYOPDer39FxSKGDfq6qFYIOkDsbKyNwaYG0wYPtWge1DaMtLutU_hYwrpsoGTSafJSFs5yOTEO2fKQ8sCaesYqnxVdQH42OXK5WIto0wP28V_Q45wQmimxQHJbvE1pSQ3MvC_V3I/s400/bezzubov1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204536659014951490" /></a><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">not at the exhibition: Bezzubov's "Earthquake #1, India" (2001), also from the series</span> Things Fall Apart. <br /><br />The quality of Bezzubov's images are stunning, similar in style, but not subject matter, to Burtynsky's work. The brochure accompanying the exhibit states that there is an upcoming monograph for the series, and I anticipate it being appropriately breathtaking. (NOTE: If you spend time on <a href="http://www.sashabezzubov.com">Bezzubov's website</a>, click on images twice to view the largest image size available, as the work definitely benefits from being viewed as large as possible.) It is also of note that although Bezzubov is working on a newer series, <span style="font-style:italic;">Things Fall Apart</span> is still an active series of work. I wonder if he is currently in China or planning a trip in the immediate future to document the recent earthquake's after effects.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-57313214581271107782008-04-20T21:36:00.014-04:002008-04-21T06:29:56.388-04:00A Handbook for Adventurers<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6yqlkefpMQk2x6kfC9sf6wd6coPPfhSKir11w9QAMbY8ml6tmKXdp23nbOzcIBgC01_EQqHjIUk6upN4cbnqiFBKdX4tejU5NkGR5dcD4NmJnKqQbyS9xrtTbhGSpiDLrPyxM2LrSrCf/s1600-h/P1040226.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI6yqlkefpMQk2x6kfC9sf6wd6coPPfhSKir11w9QAMbY8ml6tmKXdp23nbOzcIBgC01_EQqHjIUk6upN4cbnqiFBKdX4tejU5NkGR5dcD4NmJnKqQbyS9xrtTbhGSpiDLrPyxM2LrSrCf/s320/P1040226.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191520793081180898" /></a><br />As my last post stated, it'd sure be nice to be driving a car through Rodney, Mississippi and exploring its abandoned Civil War-era buildings and imagine what life was like there way back when. But one's inability to travel to other cities, states, and countries doesn't have to hinder his or her's ability to have meaningful adventures. That's what I love about "urban exploration", a term that I personally use in a broad sense. <br /><br />In 1990, <a href="http://www.tenspeed.com">Ten Speed Press</a> published <span style="font-style:italic;">The Urban Adventure Handbook</span> by Alan S. North. North expressed, both in the <span style="font-style:italic;">Handbook</span> and in a subsequent interview, that "The Call of the Wild" is strong for him and that exploring a city is what he suggests as an alternate to when one can't get to nature. Nonetheless, his <span style="font-style:italic;">Handbook </span>covers a wide variety of urban activities in a moderately thorough manner: Buildering, Balancing (predominantly on slack chains), Urban Adventure Bike Riding, Urban Spelunking, and Going High (climbing towers, bridges, high-rise buildings, monuments, etc.). To North, Urban Adventure is about taking risk, but the rewards are great:<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;"><blockquote>Going on URBAN ADVENTURES will change the way you see your urban environment. The structured, asphalt-and-concrete, developed world will become your wilderness playground. An old brick building will become a choreographer and teach you to dance in a vertical world. The blacktopped, potholed pavement will become a rapids-filled river enticing and challenging the deft navigator. A commuter-choking bridge will become a sculpture to climb. The smelly sewers beneath the city will become a Minoan labyrinth. </blockquote></span></span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The Urban Adventure Handbook</span> is quite possibly the first how-to guide for what is now called Urban Exploration. It is the precursor to Ninjalicious' <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Access-All-Areas-Users-Exploration/dp/0973778709">Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration</a></span>. The graphics are funny and helpful, and the book has almost a 1970s vibe to it, even though it's from 1990. Technique, etiquette, equipment, and safety are covered. Advice is freely given. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWk3FhsATL8C5lAAqEZHqkbct2rbvPLGZnoTWHfE7AwUd1JCImq1Ehe5uFmLVji3ZDjP6H19pRanq7UsQAEA2pt2gqaQVGZtQ6gTgKo0owdr5VNmakGAmSOsrzOdNf5z7zAz3n69FGpza/s1600-h/P1040233.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNWk3FhsATL8C5lAAqEZHqkbct2rbvPLGZnoTWHfE7AwUd1JCImq1Ehe5uFmLVji3ZDjP6H19pRanq7UsQAEA2pt2gqaQVGZtQ6gTgKo0owdr5VNmakGAmSOsrzOdNf5z7zAz3n69FGpza/s320/P1040233.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191523438781035298" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">When you get hauled in for trespassing, etc., don't call your attorney, significant other, or mom at an unreasonable hour.</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">(page 137)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Generally, the water found in drainage systems in polluted. It contains lead, oil, fecal matter, urine, and any garbage that happens to wash down the street. So don't drink it. Operating sewers, in particular, are deadly bacteria-infested environments.</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">(page 118)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">If a building management authority asks you to get off of the building, it is best to acquiesce. Agree and leave the site promptly before the law arrives. If you are on a public or corporately owned building, you can always return later when no one is there to bother you, and, correspondingly, you will bother no one.</span> <span style="font-weight:bold;">(page 45)</span><br /></blockquote></span><br />These suggestions may seem obvious or even humorous to you. But sections on Foot Placement (when Buildering), Drafting (during bike riding), and Running a Self-Belay (when Going High) are informative. <br /><br />I've really enjoyed reading and looking at this book, even though I have no intentions of balancing on a slack chain. The below illustrations by Charles K. Neifeld are particularly humorous and/or accurate. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ilJQ2suTqsGEKtoOD7SZlEp8Qb8cX0MZ4Jm9UECQPy4eRoyBW27yNSKzO_xioWUqxXro-y2XcOmF0ZjEBbn6QwS7dIri9htnzXd30h7BRcfqy55C-6z1LqD8pNX4tA0z_SDoLwnMbGnf/s1600-h/P1040230.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5ilJQ2suTqsGEKtoOD7SZlEp8Qb8cX0MZ4Jm9UECQPy4eRoyBW27yNSKzO_xioWUqxXro-y2XcOmF0ZjEBbn6QwS7dIri9htnzXd30h7BRcfqy55C-6z1LqD8pNX4tA0z_SDoLwnMbGnf/s320/P1040230.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191521209693008626" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp-K5KH5G7U-e2tkGB_L0UaiA4oexCMyoAsWg8c8Fc_QD_XwrSZgarKE4Mll9fC1i3DEG9L6A-yNr7wvJibkBTCkgypLXxrEQxwpJgh8aIng80HW8RUaK4nFS7aTQpB-nuEBKIpsHkJMz/s1600-h/P1040236.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSp-K5KH5G7U-e2tkGB_L0UaiA4oexCMyoAsWg8c8Fc_QD_XwrSZgarKE4Mll9fC1i3DEG9L6A-yNr7wvJibkBTCkgypLXxrEQxwpJgh8aIng80HW8RUaK4nFS7aTQpB-nuEBKIpsHkJMz/s320/P1040236.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191522931974894354" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7aMhsLtJ9SWQCwNJI0dQPIVcOtSp_69GEt_6tJwN4YVdyxiLMCDj-Mo0sMBaiOK1JBfHRb2OqB_KR9CJveDl7y0yVBI2WGlhYGH9Ux8Ddql9henKE562foar2sv2RcrbjlYKOlsWRrGc/s1600-h/P1040231.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr7aMhsLtJ9SWQCwNJI0dQPIVcOtSp_69GEt_6tJwN4YVdyxiLMCDj-Mo0sMBaiOK1JBfHRb2OqB_KR9CJveDl7y0yVBI2WGlhYGH9Ux8Ddql9henKE562foar2sv2RcrbjlYKOlsWRrGc/s320/P1040231.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191522124521042690" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-85966392539513847012008-04-19T17:42:00.005-04:002008-04-19T18:01:40.127-04:00Spring is here!Spring is finally here. The weather is fantastic, my lilac tree is thisclose to blooming, and a strong urge to explore is pulsing through my veins. Since I'm 8 months pregnant, I'm living a bit vicariously when it comes to exploration and travel. (Having said that, as of today, we own a car, so who knows, maybe more travel is imminent.)<br /><br />I found this video on YouTube. The green landscape combined with the sound of the car makes me want to travel to <a href="http://www.southpoint.com/states/ms/rodney.htm">Rodney, Mississippi</a> and see this nearly-abandowned town for myself. <br /><br /><object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/InE2khiTG8w&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/InE2khiTG8w&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-34003206612043264732008-03-24T00:14:00.008-04:002008-03-24T09:57:38.321-04:00Happy Easter from Wantage, New Jersey!I spent Easter with family in <a href="http://wantagetwp.com/">Wantage, New Jersey</a>; we saw vultures, a badger, and a pheasant. We spent most of our time in a nice house and also watching dozens of kids search a hill for hidden Easter eggs, but this barn caught our attention when we drove in:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjT1OT-E9EVqZakmB4UCDOUiiRq3UBY3clx2knV24b_MoiYZg-04tf1Kl0cvERxDSyhmTH7ACLWbstCrm8wnAvYbZ17e7NKBvcpCqk3GKogOemr7k6OsecSnMNyBNODSNWzfCv-TuKTpFF/s1600-h/P1040159.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjT1OT-E9EVqZakmB4UCDOUiiRq3UBY3clx2knV24b_MoiYZg-04tf1Kl0cvERxDSyhmTH7ACLWbstCrm8wnAvYbZ17e7NKBvcpCqk3GKogOemr7k6OsecSnMNyBNODSNWzfCv-TuKTpFF/s400/P1040159.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181157848260821170" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYdjLCfahEoDAR3W6UgeBbxfOaDvab6HC88XDIWN4rvJZA8ybqcl0Tv8qAOP6Mn3wP3ddfKgujGqNwbvV015-4OD-6M61zrqM9-RUOgvVyP7d7q1Cnbi3yYY0G-WgKVlmrHY1pT4PcJFG/s1600-h/P1040147.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnYdjLCfahEoDAR3W6UgeBbxfOaDvab6HC88XDIWN4rvJZA8ybqcl0Tv8qAOP6Mn3wP3ddfKgujGqNwbvV015-4OD-6M61zrqM9-RUOgvVyP7d7q1Cnbi3yYY0G-WgKVlmrHY1pT4PcJFG/s400/P1040147.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181158333592125634" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtwdiY_lEU68lT0aWym9zAkfES9ScT7eLQy50gcP8sN1WoVtbClrhz6hA9AJ0T6GH-4lJPCCw9L-1vayJBhSa0kFHZgWa5zjeRpppdYdHynpYlA2b4WNM7b9wxz6Af9DMS52hkvGkI3w4/s1600-h/P1040144.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtwdiY_lEU68lT0aWym9zAkfES9ScT7eLQy50gcP8sN1WoVtbClrhz6hA9AJ0T6GH-4lJPCCw9L-1vayJBhSa0kFHZgWa5zjeRpppdYdHynpYlA2b4WNM7b9wxz6Af9DMS52hkvGkI3w4/s400/P1040144.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181158604175065298" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6493260297494689955.post-66899399889797527102008-03-16T23:44:00.010-04:002008-05-26T10:09:27.104-04:00Return to the Bronx County CourthouseThis last week, I had the opportunity to serve jury duty in the South Bronx. During lunch hour, I walked across town to the Bronx Borough Courthouse, the site of last April's <a href="http://www.creativepreservation.org">Ars Subterranea</a> event <span style="font-style:italic;">The House of the Marble Mistress</span>. (Truth be told, I was partially visiting the Courthouse and partially frequenting the Caribbean and Soul Food restaurant across the street from it.) <br /><br />What a difference a year makes; the front entrance wasn't even visible due to the large green fencing and the construction going on in the 'hood. <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEEDA1E31F937A15754C0A96E948260&scp=22&sq=bronx+county+courthouse&st=nyt">Abandoned since 1978</a>, there are finally plans for the grand building; <a href="http://www.ny1.com/ny1/content/index.jsp?&aid=78850&search_result=1&stid=4">according to New York 1 News</a>, a charter school will open at the site in September. New (since April) "For Rent" signs were still on the building's exterior on Tuesday, but I hope that this news is accurate. The owner told Ars Subterranea last year that the desired tenant was a school or library (not retail), and it seems like this wish will become reality. <br /><br />Below is a video that Gothamist.com ran of Ars Subterranea's <span style="font-style:italic;">House of the Marble Mistress</span> event:<br /><br /><embed src='http://www.brightcove.tv/playerswf' bgcolor='#FFFFFF' flashVars='initVideoId=769641426&servicesURL=http://www.brightcove.tv&viewerSecureGatewayURL=https://www.brightcove.tv&cdnURL=http://admin.brightcove.com&autoStart=false' base='http://admin.brightcove.com' name='bcPlayer' width='486' height='412' allowFullScreen='true' allowScriptAccess='always' seamlesstabbing='false' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' swLiveConnect='true' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash<br />'></embed><br /><br />There are also <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/gaylesn/sets/72157600973903754/">a few pictures on my Flickr</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0